OCEAN LOVE

HAPPY YOGA DAYS

2011-09-01T15:12:00.000-07:00

Here you go ladies and gents..... more happy pictures from our first 10 days of training. Have an great day an Awesome Labor Day weekend! Hugs & Love, T

YAX YOGA 1

2011-08-31T06:59:00.001-07:00

Here is a picture diary of the 1st 10 days of our 20 day, 200 hour Yax Yoga Teacher Training. Thank you to Virginia Gallagher for making this all possible. Thank you to the Yax Family for helping us make our dreams come true, showing us the path to a clear mind and open heart. Thank you to my classmates for just being you, I am so lucky to be a part of this experience. As I promsied, here is the start of the posting of our photos from class. I have only posted about 30 today. I have really enjoyed editing them and enhancing the pictures so bare with me please until I get them all on here for you. Check back every couple of days for updates! NAMASTE

Practice, Practice, Practice

Outdoor Practice Time..........

The world's best DJ

IN SPACE....

2010-05-10T09:09:00.000-07:00

That is what I have heard Fallon, Nevada refered to as..... SPACE!! I guess because it is in the middle of nowhere and there is lots of nothing here :-)

I am one of 5 Air Intercept Controller Supervisors in our Carrier Strike Group. The Sups and the AIC (the other controllers) from the Aircraft Carrier and the ships that our in our Strike Group come out here with the Air Wings that we will deploy with. Our mission is to attend the fighter briefs for missions and then control the fighter missions and get great training and control time! It is awesome fun!

This is the front of the building were we control from, I can not take picutres inside any of our training spaces. You know if I could I would :-)

Ahh... What a beautiful shot I captured below! A line of F-18 Hornets with the snow capped mountains in the background.

It is cold enough outside for me to leave my yogurt outside on top of the car. It is around 35-45 degrees out today! The forecast says that it will get better, but our afternoon flights got cancelled due to the weather up in the sky :-( BUMMER!!!! Hence the time to do this blog!!

This is just another shot of the fighters, they use rocks here to landscape the base instead of grass. I will take more photos of the landscape here when the temp reaches above 60.

CHANGE IS GOOD take 1

2010-04-28T11:56:00.000-07:00

Aloha Friends! Yes, I have not written in fo ever :-) I have been reading about the exciting lives of my friends that are training and racing and it motivates me. I need to get back in the swing of things with my life of blogging. It is fun! (this is a picture from the day I rode with the IRON GIRLS up to Mt. Laguna) big difference from my pictures from my tropical paradise adventures huh???

As you may have noticed I have changed the Name of my Blog..... "FINALLY" ....I have let go of Hawaii for now, but it remains in my heart forever. I might change the title of my blog later but for now it works for my life.

I have so much change going on it would take hours to explain but in the quick and simple..... My personal life is GREATLY effected by my work life now. Being in the Navy and on a ship (that goes to sea) You do have to be very LOOSEY GOOSEY with your plans..... things change! That is why I am glad that i competed in the SuperFrog this month since any other plans of racing any time soon are out the window due to my job.

I am writing this on my lunch break while I am attending Air Intercept Control School so I have to be short. I am very excited for all of my friends racing and training this weekend. I AM SO PROUD OF ALL OF MY FRIENDS, THEY AMAZE ME!! I will be working on the boat this whole weekend and had to give up my "Spring Sprint Triathlon" That I was signed up for. I was really hoping to do good things at that race. Maybe next time right???

NALO

2010-03-07T08:00:00.000-08:00

You guessed it!! More HAWAII stuff :-)

Today's blog is about the wonderful little paradise within paradise called "WAIAMANALO"Found this little creature heading back on a bike ride one day!

Sign at the McDonalds... and below was a marathon training group I passed one morning on a long run. I need a change of scenery from time to time so I took my long run and my camera with me to the country!

Waimanalo is known for its growth of landscaping stuff, (I don't know the appropriate name for that) it rains here alot and the perfect spot to grow stuff.

Olomana Peaks from a different angle that you are used to seeing

Someone had put out some feed for these peacocks, I guess they are regulars at this hangout!

You can tell that I am really focused on my run on this day!!!

I am not sure if this cotton was planted a long time ago and it continues to grow or if it grew there by accident. It was always amusing for me to see it on the side of the road.

This is the cutest little troll house on the island..........

American Pride :-)

Cute little food place

One crazy windy day at the top of Olomana Peaks

Letting Go...... or Trying!

2010-03-01T19:16:00.000-08:00

As most of you know, I no longer live in Hawaii. I have put off making my last blog post from "My life in Hawaii". I sometimes blamed it on my computer, other times on my laziness, and another reason is because it has been extremely hard to LET GO! I am working on it! Trust me, it is not easy. I had the most wonderful relationship with Hawaii..... it was probably the best and most fulfilling relationship in my entire life. Letting Go will take more than a few days :-)

What I have decided to do is take some more time with my blog to share my good times from Hawaii that I haven't yet put out on the table. I want to be able to look back at this blog and read, smile, and remember the wonderful life that I lived there. I can't just sqeeze it into one blog and I don't have the time to set here and do it all now. I think I will feel better to just share a little at a time in no particular order.....

Yeah, that is what I will do! This picture was taken of the locals cooking Huli Huli Chicken to sale on the side of the road in their hometown of Laie. Nothing better than the smell of this..... while you are on your bike and unable to stop for a meal :-) Dad and I out on the golf course when he came to watch me at Hawaii 70.3. In the background is my favorite surf spot on the ENTIRE island. I often dream of this place STILL, it is the place I miss the most. Isn't is beautiful.... even on rainy windy days..... just so wonderful! Surfing is the love of my life!! I feel that our relationship has been on the rocks for a few weeks, but you don't give up on something so wonderful during hard times... You work on it right?? That is why I will continue to get in the water and get my ass kicked and freeze to death here in California to make our relationship work. It is worth it!! I am not closing this "LIFE IN HAWAII" until I am ready...... I will continue to share my good Hawaii times with you and to keep a log if it for my memory in the future :-) I don't want to rush... I will need a new name for my blog though???

I am so thankful to have wonderful people here that brighten my days! Thanks for being there yesterday Beth!!!!! This life is wonderful and I am so thankful to have you all in my life!

I HEART New Adventures!!

2010-01-10T23:14:00.001-08:00

What a view... little hazy from the VOG last week, but still nice! Traveling up Tantalus with Maggs last week, she noticed a "Rabbit" in the woods. I was thinking.... bunny rabbits don't live in Hawaii do they? We turned around to check it out and it was a stuffed purple bunny on a stump in an area where there were panties and bras hanging in the trees! (look in the branches) I think some teenagers were REALLY REALLY bored.
This view is from Saturday morning in Kailua.... water was like glass!

I wanted to remember sitting here and having breakfast :-)

HIC & 808 Skate in the background, paddle boards strapped and ready to get in the water!!

Almost there....

Time for a little balance training :-)

Lucky I live Hawaii, even if it is only for a few more days!

I got to see a few turtles while cruzing around (little late on the photo)

I really enjoyed trying something new

With new company :-)

This hottie was the highlight of my day.... to bad he only ran into the store long enough for me to get a quick picture... I think he was German?

I always wonder who rents the Limos.... I think maybe the Japanese Tourist?

Ahhh...... I love my friends!! I am in the yellow :-) Post ride goodies to end a perfect chill ride. I loved the Passion Fruit butter!!

I got to sqeeze in a surf in the evening before getting ready for the week. I am so thankful for my amazing weekend.... To bad they are so short!!

December 2009

2010-01-07T11:15:00.000-08:00

Aloha, I have not blogged since I returned back to Hawaii from Tennessee so I thought the best way to catch up would be do a December in a snapshot. I started the month off by going to check out the freshly shipped in Christmas Trees at Ala Moana Mall.

This stand is in the parking area and it smelled heavenly.... That was the best part!!

I didn't have a tree this year, but my heart was filled with Cheer!

Cheering for Friends that were competing in Ironman Western Austrailia

Habitiat for Humanity in Waiamanalo with some shipmates from work

I got to witness the "EDDIE"!! The last time this event was held was in 2004. An unbelievealbe event! To learn more about it: http://live.quiksilver.com/2009/eddie/history.php?btn_history=_over

XTERRA Trail Run Worlds.... Kualoa Ranch 13.1 miles of fun

Christmas Lights Ride part 1 :-) Fun Fun!!

I got horrible news that my Nanny died. I flew home to be with my family and say good-bye. She is in my dreams alot lately so I think that means that she is watching over me.

This is My Pappa, I love him so much. He loves his lawnmower!

I got to meet my 3rd cousins for the first time

Me & my beautiful Mom.... horseing around at Opryland Hotel

Me & My handsome Dad

After returning back to the island.... I got back on my bike and headed to the beach! Winter Is Here!!

Christmas Eve kicked off with a nice ride to North Shore with Maggs, it was such a beautiful day. After the ride we enjoyed omlets and got ready for Christmas Eve at Jody's house. Wonderful Food & Entertainment provided by Wii Fit/Maggs & John.

Weekend before Christmas was Bikefactory Lights Ride part 2.

WHAT FUN!!!

You better watch out, you better not cry..........

Rolling in my 5 point O

New Years Eve was spent at the beach with my friends. This guy was taking a nap in the sun.

I am in my happy place!

I love spending time with these gals, what a great day to close out a spectacular year!

2009 has been the YEAR OF MY LIFE! I can't imagine life getting any better...... but I sure do hope for more suprises in 2010.

Xterra 21K @ Kualoa Ranch

2009-12-09T18:05:00.000-08:00

Ok, I have to tell how I got signed up for this race in the first place! I am extremely glad that I did it and I had a super fun time :-)

Ok, so after my Chief Induction/Transition or whatever you want to call it... I decided I wanted to train for the marathon. The Boca Group (people that I like to train with) were already at 10+ miles during the week and at almost 15 for the weekend so I had some catching up to do. I started out slowly building up the miles. I was having fun and taking it easy, I participated in the 30k and suprised myself by running the longest distance of my life 18 miles. I thought, If I can do this? I can do the marathon. Maybe a week or two later, I got this yucky pain in my foot and got "scared" by reading about Plantar Fasciitis....... Anyways, My friend Allison and I were both dealing with "little things" going on in our body. She said she was going to run the XTERRA 21k and I said that sounded more entertaining that the Marathon down the same road that we are always on so I was excited to sign up. I just fear injuring something and having to wait a long time to heal or fear making a little injury worse by over-doing it.

I am really glad that this all worked out the way it did, I had a great race and got WAY TO MANY PHOTOS!!! Here are some that I wanted to share: hope you enjoy them What a beautiful parking lot.......

Best part of racing is running into great friends that you otherwise don't get to see!

Tons of people gathered for a beautiful day Not only does he have a nice outfit, he is barefoot! What a backdrop to a finish lineThe 21K (13.1 mile run) Started at 9am, followed by a 10k and then a 5k The first part of the run is nothing but UP!

Yes, I spent a lot of energy on the run getting great pictures!

I figure if I am not trying to place then why not enjoy every little second. I even made some new friends on the trail!

Kualoa Ranch is over 3,000 acres

More Climing!!

Almost There??? Let's see what is around corner #1

I loved getting to splash in the creek! The cold water was refreshing

Yes, I smiled through most of the run!! (Well, maybe not the HUGE HILLS)

Had to get a picture of the canoe carved out of a tree

Is this some down hill?? YES!!!

I'll bet you money the people around me were tired of me taking photos

This tropper is also doing the marathon this Sunday!!

I thought that I would throw on a little face paint for fun, hope it didn't have cow poop in it!

Slip n Slide Time!! So much fun!!

This is my favorite part of it all!!! The friends!!!

Habitat for Humanity

2009-12-09T13:00:00.000-08:00

Habitat for Humanity in Waimanalo....

I volunteered my Saturday morning to spend time with fellow sailors on this project. It was fun and rewarding! I am glad that I got an opportunity to give some time to help out.

Mixing the Sealer for the 2 bathrooms in the home

Luckily I got to use a paintbrush and primer all morning, no powertools or sharp objects had to be used by my clumsy hands.

You like my nametag?

This is the kitchen/living area. Cabinets were getting installed.

Brian painting with the most amazing scenery as a back drop.After the work at the home, I headed to the beach for some "ME" time!!And look what I found.....

I Love Hawaii!!

Didn't surf...... loved the evening!

2009-12-03T22:05:00.000-08:00

I had the most amazing evening! This afternoon, I had an appointment to schedule my Household Goods Shipment which will be January 12th :-( Yes, Sad! Oh well, time to move on before long.

Until I move, I will continue to have these blissful evenings at the beach! The surf here in Hawaii right now is pretty massive. It is about 20ft faces on the north shore and on base today it was about 15ft faces on the big sets, I did not paddle out. Lots of guys were being super pushy and saying that I could handle it, but I was very happy just "being" at the beach. A friend whose son surfs showed up and I got to chat with her a bit and then after she left I decided to run along the waters edge for some cardio.... Yowza is running in the sand a great workout!!!

I stayed at the beach until the sun was completely gone and the rain started..... the sound of the powerful waves, the energy from all the "stoked" surfers, the coolness of the ocean water on my skin, the cold sand in all the "wrong" places, the beauty of the most amazing thing created from storms WAVES, and the brave souls taking off on the 15 feet drops...... All made for the Perfect evening for me.

Any evening spent outside in nature/ocean is a living dream for me!! (the warmth helps)

Today was also my friend Rachele's last day at work, she has been a great friend and mentor for me. I am sad to see her go, but I am happy that she will be happy in her next adventure. We will miss you Rachele.

This is me being the photographer for the day.... I was trying to figure out what button to push.

This guy is holding his board that was broke into two pieces.... Hopefully he enjoyed some rides before the break.

This is my friend Malia's youngest son Kanoa, his big brother Makai was out surfing. Isn't the beach beautiful.....

Ahh.... my dinner topped with some fish outta the freezer! I wonder how long it has been in there???

Gidget Pro

2009-12-01T08:16:00.000-08:00

Poor Dog! He was so cute being the advertiser for lots of sponsors at the event!

I got to Sunset Beach and found a nice spot to set and wait until the women started thier competition.

While waiting I got to watch some of the men heats and to me the best one was with Sunny Garcia Shredding those double overhead waves like no tomorrow!

Lots of Spectators and lots of cameras

This is a shot of Rachele Ballard chit chatting with Buttons on Friday, she has mad skills in the water and is the best female tube rider of ALL TIME! To me she is one of these BEST surfers of this generation, and she started camps for young girls to help them get involved and learn about surfing, I could go on and on but I won't. She is an ICON for me! $0=how much it cost to watch surf contest $15= price of event T-shirt

This photo of Japanese Tourist = PRICELESS

They moved the VANS banner when it was time for the Women to Start!

Brazilian Silvana Lima with 3 boards trying to decide which to use

This chic is bad ass! She surfs so wild and gets airs more than any other female surfer I have watched, it was really cool to see her in action on the North Shore.

I am so stoked that I got to watch her warm up!

Here is a shot of Rochelle, she was a caddy for Coco Ho in the sweet 16 heat! A caddy is a person that takes an extra board out to the break for the surfer in the contest, just incase they want to swith due to wave size/conditions or if they break a board during their heat.

Hawaii's Megan Abubo, I later got to speak to her and tell her great job in her heat. (STOKED!)

Hawaii's Melanie Bartels

Ok, I had to get a picture of Alana Blanchards Backside. Call me weird, but I think that she is beautiful and this is a picture that you will not see on any website or magazine. She won the Reef Pro in Haleiwa this year! After she won her heat in the sweet 16 and she went from Semi Finals and to the finals to take 4th place

Hawaii's Coco Ho :-) She didn't make it to the finals but did an amzing job out there!

I didn't get to watch the finals live or the awards ceremony because I had to head back home, shower and be somewhere. Hawaii's Carrisa Moore (17) Won and I am so happy for her. She is a senior in High School and one of the best surfers ever!! Way to Go Carrissa!

Blue Friday

2009-11-30T08:10:00.000-08:00

I will call it "Blue instead of Black Friday".
I absolutely hate shopping ( I don't have the money) so I just tell myself that I don't like to shop.

The thought of fighting traffic and a crowd of people makes me cringe.... so I decided to have a nice enjoyable ride to North Shore on my bike Friday.

I was very nice outside, but the ride there was way to easy. I was averaging 22 mph without giving it much effort so I knew that I had some work cut out for me on the ride back.

I spent alot of time on the ride taking pictures, this is something that you don't do if you are riding with other people or training for an event. Where you are training, you are really focused on the ride/workout. Friday I tried to soak up as much of the little things that I could. Before I know it, me and my beautiful love Hawaii will be separated.

This beach area is about 7 miles from my home, alot of the coastline on the ride looks like this. It is absolutely breathtaking and fun to ride when the side winds are howling.... I got to kind of ride with a lean due to the stong wind.

Another stop not to far down the road for some shade and photos....

Isn't this just a beautiful little spot?

Here is some local opinion.... put on sheets to make a billboard. This has been here for long time, I just have never taken time to stop or read. Do you know the history of Hawaii and how it was taken over? It is pretty sad, but it seems this is the story of all lands at one time or another.

I stopped at the Vans Triple Crown 2nd event at Sunset Beach. I stayed there for about an hour but it is tough for me to be at the beach in my bike outfit, I am sure to everyone that looked at me they were thinking... What is up with that girl dressed like that (what a weirdo) About a year and a half ago before I ever rode a bike, I would have thought the same thing. HA HA

I had to get a shot of the cute $2 drinks......... gotta love coconut milk!

All the pretty horses...... They have a nice home! This is what I rewarded myself with at the Hygenic Store, Slammed the coke and stuck the Hot Dog in my back pocket. It made riding in the wind by myself all worth the work.

My Thanksgiving

2009-11-28T10:21:00.000-08:00

I didn't go Boar hunting for Turkey Day but this is the little fellow that I seen near where I live. I am not sure if he was a pet or just a wild guy out for some food but he was on the side of the road eating grass. I have never seen pigs eat grass like this..... my memories of pigs on farms where them being feed "SLOP" which is anything and everything that people would collect from their kitchen or farm that might be edible.
Anyways, I am keeping a lookout for this guy, he seemed kinda friendly when I got close up so he might be someones pet?

I started the morning by attending the 10 mile Turkey Trot in town. I didn't register or actually start at the official start line, but I ran with the participants and enjoyed it. It was motivation to run and I didn't have to run alone.

Here are my legs in the sand while I stretched when I got to the beach afterwards....

It was so windy on the Turkey Trot, I knew that my surf spot would be a mess so I headed to the "West Side" (not all the way, cause it was really big) I stopped at a spot called "TRACKS" there was lots of people and it was really tiny surf, but I enjoyed being in the sunshine and sheilded from the strong winds. I got to chat with some folks in the water and that made it worthwhile.

I ended the day with a visit to the Movies with my friend Laura. We had a Thanksgiving Dinner of Movie Popcorn with some wine she snuck in the theater. Yummo!! We seen "BLIND SIDE" Oh wow, it was soooooooooo good. I would recommend this movie to everyone!

1 year ago....

2009-11-28T09:34:00.000-08:00

Last year for Thanksgiving weekend, I took the Superferry to Maui and spent the weekend with a friend's friends! I have to say that it was the most memorable Thanksgiving that I can remember. In my past 12 years I can't remember a very special Thanksgiving, lots of holidays spent out to sea, or on duty on the ship eating a meal out of the "galley" I wanted to share with you my experience from last year.

Lots of the food was cooked in IMU "underground oven" Here are some photos of us removing the dirt and potatoe sacks to reviel the food.

This was the setup for dinner out in the yard.

Thanksgiving Dinner was amazing, the company was the best. The next day Clayton and I rode our bikes to Upcountry and here is some of the beautiful scenery on our rideWe stopped at the Ulapalakula Winery for a taste... Yummy!Sunset

The next evening was an event called "EAST MEETS WEST" The tradition started due to a public event of food/wine pairing... They just recreated it at their home for more fun and no cover charge for food.

We all prepared food dish to be paired with a drink, each food was displayed on a table with the folks who prepared it giving a little review of the food/drink before serving it. It was really fun to prepare and later taste all of the dishes....

Clayton sported an apron that said "Who are these kids and why are they calling me Mom?" It suits him very good :-)

Food was based not only on taste, but it was judged on presentation and how it paired with wine or whatever beverage that you choose to pair with it. This was super fun and a great way to bring friends together for an entertaining evening.This was a crab boil.....

I made this Bruchetta, It was so yummy! I didn't get a picture of it until after it had been ravished.We had some wonderful entertainment, the guys played instruments and the ladies danced Hula that was so beautiful. This was a truly amazing experience for me.The next morning I took another quick spin on my bike before I had to go back down to catch the superferry.

Strange Things

2009-11-25T10:06:00.000-08:00

It's Thanksgiving Eve and I am excited. I got to talk to my dad this morning before heading to work and that was nice. I had my breakfast & coffee and I was ready to head out to work.

My neighbor (man) was outside this morning. I said the usual hello/good morning to him and he told me he had to move my car last night to park his in the back of the driveway. Cool..... I have no problems with that at all.

Well, to my embarassment I opened the door of my car to find a pair of my underwear in the floor of the driver side. Yep! I can't even imagine what my neighbor must have thought about that.

He knows that I am an active girl that always has a surfboard in the car or a bike hanging off the back. I don't know if it crossed his mind that I also use my car as a locker room. Yes, I change clothes in my itty bitty Miata. Hopefully he thought about that, but oh well. If anything now, my neighbor thinks I am a COMPLETE FREAK that surfs alot!

Ahh.....

2009-11-24T23:15:00.000-08:00

Today was a beautiful day here in Hawaii. I snuck away to surf at lunch time and ended up going back to surf again after I got off work. I just can't help it.

I entertained myself with taking some photos along the highway back to work. Don't worry, I was wearing my seatbelt. I just wanted to share the view on the drive I make everyday to head to and from work.

Big Swell gonna hit tomorrow so we will see what happens. I am pretty excited for the long weekend.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!

If you are my family reading this, I love you so much and wish more than anything that I could be meeting up and sharing Thanksgiving with you and giving hugs and smiles. I will be home soon, I can't wait to come visit. Maybe we could eat Thanksgiving meal then???

10 Weekends Left :-( I think??

2009-11-23T14:27:00.000-08:00

Yes, I am counting down my precious weekends............

Saturday mornings start early for me and I really love that. I always look forward to the day's adventure. This Saturday morning I finally made it to the fountain to ride with the Quick Release Group and only 2 people were there :-( That was ok, but I really looked forward to seeing old friends for the first time in way to long. Allison and I went to the Pali, I really wanted to climb it since I haven't climbed a hill in what seems like forever.

We were very lucky with a clear, breezy, cool morning with NO RAIN!!

Here is a trickle of a waterfall on Nu'uanu Drive. I love this road, there is no traffic and all you hear is the sound of the stream flowing while you slowly climb in the cool mountain air :-)

I love flying down the Pali on the other side..... the wind was so strong I had to pedal most of the way down. It is so much fun. I don't have pics or videos of that because it is important to have both hands on my bars. A helmet cam would be cool though. Here is a picture that I found on the web, we decend in the lane that the white car isn't on. It was alot cloudier Saturday, but still fun.

Here is a picture that I took after we got to the bottom. As you can see it was cloudy, but still just a perfect day.

We ran into Katy in Waimanalo, she rode back with us to Hawaii Kai where she lives. Here is a not so straight picture of the ride back.

In the afternoon, I headed up to North Shore and paddled out at Gas Chambers. It was very nice and not to many guys in the water. I caught some fun long rights and got killed by taking a few big ones on the head. I love surfing so much, I just got a little cold out that day. Can you believe how cold I am going to be in San

Diego?

After the surf sesh, I went and got some coffee to warm up and headed back home. Sunday I surfed on the base at k-bay.... It was fun and not many guys out. I was glad to get some sunshine.

I am so excited that this is a short week and I can sqeeze some more surfing/riding in!!!!

Pastries & Retirement

2009-11-21T07:42:00.001-08:00

If I have not mentioned earlier, Friday is my favorite day of the "work week"

Fridays are tough at work, there are treats sittting by my desk as soon as I walk in the office. I have to deal with this scenario atleast 2-3 times a week. Friday is a given and its unknown of the other days that the devil comes by and places these by my desk.

These things here are called Malasadas. They are Hawaiian form of a dougnut but instead of having a hole in the middle they are filled with Chocolate or Custard. AND..... They are coated in plain sugar or cinnimon and sugar mix.

Yes, they are evil but soooooo Good!!

Fellow Chief Darrin Lee had his retirement ceremony. It was very nice and I am glad that I didn't get emotional. I was part of the ceremony, I got to read the Chief Petty Officer's Retirement Creed and "The Watch" I have added some photos here from the event. Darrin will be missed by folks in the Navy, he was always there when you need him and when you needed a laugh/smile.

Here are some of the Chiefs lined up to be "Sideboys" That is what the "Official" Party enters through. Usually high ranking officers and the person being honored at the ceremony.

I don't know if I told you or not, but Darrin is 3/4 Ninja. Here he is on the right showcasing his skills with a sword on the cake! We got to eat some yummy food. Steak/Salmon and Veggies and I can't forget the wide worldly variety of beers that Darrin had there to offer. My beer of choice for the afternoon was Pacifico. I could only enjoy 2 now that I am a light-weight. I had to go jump in the ocean afterwards to kill my beer buzz.

100 MILES ?????

2009-11-14T20:23:00.000-08:00

This week has been "Slow" for me! I am dealing with lots of pain in my foot so I have not been running and I have not surfed since Tuesday due to the CRAZY Winds that have been dominating the islands. I normally thrive on HUGE CRAZY wind swell, but this week I haven't really felt like dealing with the beating.

You can call me a whimp :-)

Lots of friends are in their final big weeks of training for IM Western Austrailia so today I thought that I would join them for a bike ride. I am suprised that my body made it the whole way and with a smile. It was such a fun day with the "LADIES"

We headed out from Kailua into some nasty looking weather. It turned out to be not so bad, only a few bad areas of rain and we tackled the tradewinds in a big pack so that made it more fun :-)

The beaches on the North shore were empty due to the nasty weather. This is a picture of Allison at Sunset Beach where it was windy, rainy, and cold in Hawaii. We are some spoiled gals aren't we. Notice the beach is completely empty which is super rare and you can't tell from the photo but the water is brown due to the huge amount of rain we have had this week causing lots of run off.

Here is my in motion photo of an empty brown water Waimea Bay!

Oh yeah, we had to get a VOGUE Shot in at the world famous "Hygienic Store" where we stopped for a yummy Coke-Cola :-)

I love Hawaii and my friends that I have here. I want to cherish every second that I have with this great place and wonderful people.

Aloha and have a great weekend :-)

Freedom Isn't Free

2009-11-11T20:54:00.000-08:00

Aloha! Today was for remembering those who have sacrificed their all for our country and our "FREEDOM". I don't know if 10% of Americans ever stop to think about how wonderful we have it compared to the rest of the world, but after traveling the world for the past 10+ years "I GET IT". I am very thankful to be American. No matter how tough things get for us, we can not fathom what others around the globe deal with on a daily basis. SURVIVAL, is what is on most of their minds.

I finally Slept past 7am :-) after waking up naturally at 5am to pouring rain... but It turned out to be a beautiful day minus the wind so I took my board and my camera on a journey to North Shore. I found out that North Shore looked like windward side surf... Oh well!! I still enjoyed the morning!

I entertained myself today with my camera instead of my surfboard.

At Haleiwa they are making preps for the Reef Hawaii Pro and I ran into an old friend who is visiting from San Diego.... WoW its a small world.

Here we are before I had to run off. I look forward to crossing paths again with my good friend Anthony!

These groms were ready to get in a catch some waves.... I hope that they caught a wave or two for me!

I love Hawaii and will cherish every minute that I have to spend here until I depart in the New Year :-)

Catching up!

2009-09-25T08:52:00.000-07:00

It has been a really long time since I have posted anything. The great news is that I am complete with my "Induction" to becoming a Chief Petty Officer. My anchors got pinned on 16th of September, The Greatest Day of me Bloomin Life!!
I went throught 6 weeks of "training" where we breathe, eat, sleep, think nothing but NAVY!! NAVY CHIEF, NAVY PRIDE!! It was wonderful to make so many new friends and learn so much about what lies ahead in my career as a CHIEF! My mother was here visiting afterward and we had a great little vacation. I have alot of blogging to do to catch up to where life is now, but this was were I left off.

This is me.... back in September getting my Chief cover. Cover means "HAT" for normal people :-) That is my beautiful mother in the blue!

Before I received my cover, my mother and Paul Kamanuwai "pinned" my anchors on my uniform. This is a very special ceremony.... I chose Paul because he was the most influential leader that I have had in my Naval Career. He showed me what it meant to take time for and care for someone that you seen potential in. He is retired now, but I hope to fill his shoes the right way!

Here are the "New Chiefs" awaiting our special moment :-)

After the pinning ceremony, I got to see co-workers from present & past. I also got the warm suprise of FRIENDS who came to share this special day with me. I was filled with Joy and so was my mother. I am happy that she got to share the day with me.

I will have to post a picture later sometime of what my face looked like after being awake and "having fun" for over 30 hours straight!!

TGFS

2009-09-01T00:16:00.000-07:00

THANK GOD FOR SURF!!!

I finally got to get in the heavenly surf yesterday for the first time in over a month....... AMAZING!!!

I forgot how wonderful the water feels going over my body when I duck dive under a wave. I haven't felt so great in a long time and I have had some really fun days lately but nothing compares to the way I felt during my 1 hour surf sesh yesterday evening.

Thank you OCEAN!!

How does this uniform look?

2009-08-23T21:12:00.000-07:00

Aloha, WOW... It has been way to long. I can't even think of where to start except that I am 3 weeks into this "Transition" to Chief Petty Officer and I couldn't be prouder. I am learning alot and making some great friends along the way. I am very appreciative of the folks that truly want to help us become better leaders and sailors. I am very proud to be a part of this. NAVY CHIEF, NAVY PRIDE.

These are pictures from my uniform fitting 2 weeks ago

Last week I attended the CPO Legacy Academy aboard USS Missouri (BB 63) She is the the home of the Japanese Surrender to World War II. I could go on and on with information but I just don't have the time. I am going to post some pictures and say that it was a SUPER BUSY, INFORMATIVE, MEMORABLE and touching WEEK! I had a great time and am glad to continue on to the next weeks. I promise that when all of this is over, I can share more.

I did have one awesome day to share (no pictures) SORRY!! Wednesday, we went to the Kaneohe Marine Corps Base and participated in the FMF(Fleet Marine Force) Challenge.

It is teamwork/communication/leadership training. The teams were 6 people and our events included AMMO Hauling (running ammo from point A to B with a helmet and flack jacket) HUM-V pull, Climbing over logs, Sliding down poles, Crawling under a barbed-wire jungle, and a tug-o-war that had us starting in the muddy water on our bellys then up to push up position. I LOVED EVERY SECOND OF THIS DAY!!! I loved Eating an MRE (meal ready to eat) for lunch. It makes you think about what our deployed soilders and sailors are eating everyday over in the middle east.

Ok, I have to go so I will quickly post some pictures. Only 3 more weeks and 3 days until I can call myself a CHIEF and get back to SWIM BIKE RUN SURF!!!

PARTY TIME??

2009-07-31T09:56:00.000-07:00

I don't feel like I had a party, but according to these ice bags .... I had a party last night. I have been a little tougher on my body this week than it is used to. (probably since Honu training) I thought I would be good to it and give my legs an ice bath last night..... it did feel really good. I was just missing the pizza and beer that Maggs likes to have with her ice bath :-)

So, since I have been a "blogger" I have learned some things from everything that I read. I read that some athletes use ice bath, hot bath..... so I tried it 2x. If you have any feedback on what you do for recovery, your comments are welcome. After the baths, I put on the compression tights and went to La-La Land for the night.

I slept so hard that when I woke up, I thought that I had slept past my alarm and I was wondering what day it was. LUCKY TODAY IS FRIDAY!!! That give me a little more of a happy boost. Today, my hamstrings, quads, and glutes feel sore but I am hoping that by tomorrow morning they are ready to race! I am totally nervous about Part 1 of the BOCA STAGE RACE........ the OLOMANA ROAD RACE!! I am just going to get there early in the morning, warm up for 45mins on the trainer and give it my all to hang on to the ladies!!

I know that atleast the Time Trial will be ok, I am only racing myself during that one :-)

Well, right before I wanted to post this blog I found out that I MADE CHIEF!! I am currently a Chief Select. My life totally changes today but I am happy about that. I will be very busy for the next 6 weeks or so until my "pinning" on Sept 16th. I am hoping to be able to participate in some events, but I will see what my schedule allows. Thanks for all of your well wishes and good luck.

I AM STOKED!!

Anticipation!!!

2009-07-29T13:48:00.000-07:00

Aloha everyone, this is a very crazy week for me. It is the last week that I have to anticipate the results for the Navy Chief Petty Officer selections. I am eligible this year for the 2nd time and I am eagerly awaiting the results.

I have been in the Navy for a total of 11 years and 7 months. I went to boot camp in December of 1997 as an E-1 (the lowest possible rank). I am currently an E-6 (First Class Petty Officer) and making Chief (E-7) will be one of the biggest milestones of my career.

To give you a little info on what is looked at for this type of promotion, I will start by explaining the previous promotion ladder.

From E-1 to E-3 all you have to do is be in for a certain amount of time, not get in any trouble and request to get advanced and that happens automatically. To make E-4 through E-6 you have to take a Navy Advancement Exam that test you on your job specific knowledge and also on Navy Wide knowledge from Uniform Regulations to Navy History to First Aid/CPR and Damage Control or Firefighting...... lots of info!!

Now, you do not get advanced just because you do good on your test. There has to be room in the Navy and your specific job for advancement. Sometimes that doesn't pan out as it should because at times, there are more people in higher ranks than the Navy's budget is set. This makes it hard for junior sailors to advance and they have to set a certain "multiple or score"

This is all so confusing, I know :-)

To get selected as a Chief you have to first take a Navy test and then if you do well enough you are what they call "BOARD ELIGIBLE". I you get this far then you have to submit a package. What the Board reviews is your last 5 years of service. Your performance evaluations are reviewed and anything in the past 5 years that you have done or failed to do can help you or hurt you.

I have had 8 years of duty on ships so that is good, I am missing a very important role of Leading Petty Officer at Sea so I am thinking this might hurt me a little bit. I have continuously been involved in the commands that I am at and involved in the community which is important. I do not have tons of college complete and this could hurt me, and I haven't been ranked against peers in the past 2 years so we will see the outcome.

If I do not get selected for promotion I have plenty of things that will keep me busy so I will not have time to be bummed for to long.

I need to take my English 1302 :-) and complete alot of training for Air Intercept Control Catch-up qualifications (which I am currently working on) I also want to do a little island hopping.

The DICK EVANS MEMORIAL ROAD RACE (112 miles) is on SEPT 6th and I will be training for that race. The following day Sept 7th is the WAIKIKI ROUGHWATER SWIM (2.4 miles) and I want to train more for that.

Also, There is another LAVAMAN Triathlon on the Big Island the following weekend Sept 13th and I would love to go and participate in that with my friends. These events are things that I don't know if I will be able to particpate in if I am busy with Chief "Induction" which is totally fine. I will be happy either way, it is just the anticipation that is killing me.

Maui

2009-07-27T17:00:00.000-07:00

I headed out to Maui with Chris on Thursday morning for a little fun away from home. Chris had some ocean surveying to accomplish with his peeps on Maui and I was along for the fun. Thursday morning we immediately hit Krispy Kreme for a fresh doughnut. Chris claims their apple fritters taste the same as Safeway, but I am all about the doughnuts myself :-)

Next we hit up the Zipline, Chris has been wanting to do this for some time now. It was fun to be in the woods for a bit.
After the Zipline, I was ready for the Lavender Farm. Yes, call me an old lady..... I love this kind of stuff. As you know, I love flowers and ones that smell amazing and have many uses are even better. This farm grows many many different types of Lavender and during our little walking tour, I got to smell the difference of about 7 types. I never knew that each type had a distinct smell and different particular uses.

After some spectacular Curry and Gelato in Paia town, we headed to the Ho'okipa Beach for a quick swim/play. The water was so refreshing with lots of fishys to look at and of course this huge SWAMP THING of moving seaweed that was creepy...

OFF TO HANA WE GO.... Weeeeeeeee!!!!

I spent the first day riding my bike and was just so happy. It was my 1 year anniversary of riding my bike (ORBEA) so I spent some quality time with her on the road :-)

This brown cow was making sure the highway was safe for my travels, he was a nice road guard. I am just happy that he didn't decide to charge at me while I was taking photos of him. When I was little, I would tease the cows that lived near my home and they got me back by scaring the shit out of me by charging at me.... Ahhh... the good ole days of being a little kid :-)

At every bridge this is what I had to deal with, not to bad I just had to really slow and be careful not to get stuck in a rut (if you know what I mean??)

Here is the rental house that we stayed in for the two nights, it was so cozy and right across the field from the beautiful ocean.

I went on the 4 mile hike in the National Park that goes back to the 400ft waterfall. I got to take a few self portraits to share with you.

Lei Stands at the Airport

2009-07-19T08:00:00.000-07:00

Aloha, Yes here we go with flowers again! I wanted to share what the stands at the airport look like. Since I am a lover of flowers... it is entertaining to me.

This topic comes up today since I will be going to the airport in a little bit to pick up the Royal New Zealand Navy's Sailor of the Year and his wife. They are arriving for a tour of the Navy's History here in Hawaii, we (Commander Pacific Fleet Headquarters) sponsor this visit as we do our Pacific Fleet Sailor of the Year Finalist.

Here are some shots of the women that work all day to create the beautiful Leis that you see on folks that are arriving to the islands, celebrating birthdays or any other special occasion.

Here is a picture of my brother while him and I were waiting on my dad at the airport when he arrived for his vacation. Brent had picked the cool green lei because him and my dad are Moto-X Kawasaki freeks and I picked the other one because of the wonderful smelling white flowers.

I wish that I could put a scratch and sniff button on your screen and share the wonderful smells that come along with some of the flowers here. Ahhhh... the things that I love about Hawaii :-)

I also have a blog of Pearl Harbor pictures that I would like to share, I will save that for another day. Have a GREAT SUNDAY!!!

My new toy :-)

2009-07-08T00:30:00.000-07:00

I have great news... I got my first brand new bike yesterday!! Isn't she a beauty??? I have been shopping for this bike for a while now. If you didn't know, I HATE SHOPPING! I would rather do a long ride or long run instead of shop and honestly I feel much better after a good long workout. I feel exhausted and sleepy after shopping, I was told yesterday in class by my instructor that I was not a "typical woman" whatever the heck that means. Maybe he just hasn't been around any fun girls lately :-)

I got to take her for a spin this morning in the rain and harsh winds by myself and enjoyed some quite time on the road. It felt nice and I look forward to more rides......

Here is a real picture of my new toy!!

So for the past week, I have been in AIC Training (AIR INTERCEPT CONTROLLER).

This is one of my jobs in the Navy and I am attending training to get back up to speed on the current tactics and communication formats. I truly love being in the Navy, I am very excited to get back to the operational/tactical job that I love but I really will miss being at home every night and having every weekend to play (boy have the last 2 1/2 years been nice)

This weekend my friend Allison is headed to Napa, California to compete in the VINEMAN Ironman 70.3 She is going to do awesome :-)

For the past month or longer I have been riding with her on the long weekend rides and it has been really fun. Last weekend I got in 70 miles and the weekend before Allison put in 107 and Chris and I got a 95 mile ride in. I sure didn't expect that, I was just along for fun and it ended up that I made the whole way. Chris had initially planned on riding about 20 miles or so and you see how that turned out. Here is a picture of us on the "Windward Side" overlooking Chris' place of work "Coconut Island" Not a bad office huh? This picture doesn't do it justice, it was such a beautiful darn day :-)

Our journey started in town and we headed out to Kualoa Ranch for the turnaround and here is shot of the mountains as we were cruzin by.....

This is the side of the island that I live on. I am hoping to leave from my house tomorrow for a nice ride.

Below here is what you jersey looks like after you have finished 6 hours on the bike :-) Nice and Salty

Can't get enough......July 4th

2009-07-08T00:20:00.001-07:00

I love sleeping in...... usually this means not waking up to an alarm clock. I don't sleep past 6:30am on these days, but is very nice to wake up at your own will. July 4th started with me not wanting to go anywhere near "town" This would include Honolulu, Waikiki or driving anywhere near or through these places. I didn't want to be around 100's of people crammed in small areas. I talked Chris into heading up to the north shore for another fun day in the water. It took a while to get him feeling it, but after I mentioned "Shrimp Truck" he was game!!!

On our way up I had mentioned that I had never visited the "Mormon Temple" and he kind of wanted to check it out to. Boy were we in for a treat. We got approaced at the visitor center by a nice gentleman who let us know all about the Mormon faith and Chris made him earn his mission miles that day with a few questions.

After our learning session with Brother Eldner, we walked around the Temple grounds and I got some pretty sweet photos. It was a beautiful day and it was HOT HOT HOT. I kind of wanted to jump in the fountain to take a dip, but I thought Brother Eldner might call the police :-)

The temple was dedicated in 1919 and has been played a huge role in the history of Laie town. This town is the home of Brigham Young University and the Polynesian Culture Center.

Off to the shrimp truck we go!!! YUMMMMM....... Can't get enough of this, I had the Ginger Shrimp!

Along the drive to the North Shore there are alot of Shrimp Shacks/Trucks. I happen to know that these folks are millionaires because they charge you $12 for shrimp/rice/tiny bit of lettuce/tiny bit o pinneapple

All of this has to only cost about $3-$5 to produce.... These shacks are always packed with tourist and locals alike because the shrimp is just so darn tasty! I guess I am helping make these folks rich one $12 plate at a time :-0

That little speck on the lower right in the water is Chris, this is where we started our swim to head to Shark's Cove... It was a nice sandy start, but we quickly got entertained by reef and creatures that live there.

And after the long swim we treated ourselves to our favorite... Acai Bowls :-) at Kava roots at Pupukea

After a morning surf sesh..... July 3rd

2009-07-08T00:14:00.000-07:00

After a great morning in the water on the south shore and some lunch it was time to head to the country. I have always loved my time spent on the north shore and this day was not different. I got to get some great photos of things that I have wanted to snap for a long time. I have always thought this old burn-down building was so beautiful and I finally have a picture to keep!

Our first stop was Waimea Bay for a swim. It was such a beautiful day and the beach was so alive with all different types of activities. Here is a shot of the bay from our "primo parking spot" a quick trip down a grass/dirt trail and we are in the sand. The swim was amazing! As soon as we put our heads underwater we could hear the dolphin sounds, bummer we didn't see any on this day but I am keeping my fingers crossed for my next Bay swim :-)

Our next stop was Puu-o-mahuka Heiau.

This well-preserved heiau (temple) is the largest on O'ahu covering over 5-acres and consisting of three adjoining enclosures measuring 575 feet by 170 feet. This was considered a powerful place for the kahuna and one of two places where wives of the ancient chiefs gave birth.
This heiau may also have been a site of human sacrifice.

The large podium has been removed so this is a picture of where the locals go to place their gifts to the gods. I noticed the Yam and the coconuts but I can't remember what other little items where there.

The views from this land are amazing, I wish that there were more trails cleared out for us to explore!

Located on the north shore town of Pupukea, this site is situated on a pali overlooking Waimea Bay. It is a national landmark and a registered state historical site.

Summer Fun: June 27th-28th

2009-07-07T13:39:00.000-07:00

Wow, so I haven't blogged in a bit so I have some catching up to do. I have really been enjoying the summer so far. Lucky me, go the flu 2 weeks ago but rested up and was able to complete the first race of the North Shore Swim Series the "Raging Isle Spint" 1 mile swim The water felt amazing and there was so much life underwater to look at while I was warming up. This would be my first workout after getting sick, I still wasn't much better but I didn't want to miss out on the beautiful race and free t-shirt. The women started 5 mins before the men, here is a picture of us heading out to the start bouys. I did ok on this swim considering that I was still sick, I felt good during the swim but after I finished I just wanted to lay down. All of my friends were riding their bikes back to Kailua or town and I had to get in the car and drive myself home to lay down for sleep. I had my bike with me ready to ride, but since I had a race the next day... I needed to get as much rest as I could. I crashed as soon as I got home and later that day made preps for my race the next morning.

Sunday was the Firecracker Sprint on the SouthWest side of the island. I was feeling better (not great) but during my warm up I really could tell that it was going to be a "snotty" race :-) This race had an interesting swim.... the water wasn't so calm which made it a fun 500m swim.

Here was the women's wavy start - - - -

I had a spectacular bike split, Chris let me use his ZIPP wheels for this race and I think that made a big difference. The run was flat and fast like the bike and HORRAY I am finished. I was glad to be done.... somehow the snot rockets just never stopped. I HATE BEING SICK!! I had a great time and enjoyed getting 1st place in my Age Group :-) After enjoying a fabulous breakfast I headed home for another day of resting and recovering from my FLU/RACE weekend.

Here I am with the 1ST PLACE OVERALL: Maggs and another BOCA 1ST PLACE Age Group winner Michele

Look how beautiful the beach was after the race was pau.......

I got to work the next morning and was immediately informed that I had been SELECTED for my request for orders to the USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) in San Diego, California. I am happy because this is the duty that I was hoping for, but sad because I am going to have to say good-bye to my wonderful happy life here in paradise. My goal until I have to leave is to continue to have the time of my life......

ALOHA!!

This is the way to kick off summer time

2009-06-21T23:39:00.000-07:00

Ahhh..................... HAPPINESS!!!

After the race on May 30th, I had a few weeks off from the normal routine. My dad was here for a few days after in which I indulged in Golf and some chilling time which was fun. After that I was back to work as usual, but something wonderful happened.

The south shore started firing! The cool thing about this is that it wasn't your typical 1-2 day iffy sutff. This swell was consistent for over a week. When one surge would die, another would come and great us with open arms.

I am so thankful for my dawn patrol sessions and those days after work spent in the water until the sun would set.

I just wanted to share a few picutres of how great the surf was in my little "favorite south shore spot" and notice how few people are in the water.

PARADISE!!

Of course since I have been outta the water for a few months, I did get rocked and rolled out there on the big sets. I forgot how exciting it is to have a huge wall of wave coming at you and you are there in the water saying to yourself...... "I am taking this one on the head" I also love the feeling of being in the perfect spot for that nice long left of excitement. WOW!! I am getting a smile on my face by just writing about it.

I would love to have some pictures of me on these great waves, but unfortunately I don't have someone to sit and take picutres of me when I am in the water. Maybe in the future..... I did see this awesome sign I wanted to share with you. After a good surf sesh, any food is fun to eat

Bike Riding Fun!

2009-06-21T23:29:00.000-07:00

My weekend started Friday when I got off from work :-) I went home and ate leftover pizza and watched a movie. After that I decided that I needed a nap. WOW!! Pretty exciting huh?

Yes, my life can be boring but I love it. After getting woke up from my nap by my brothers' need for some loud heavy metal music.... I woke up for a few hours to accomplish some household cleaning and called it a night. YES, I am the ultimate party animal when it comes to Friday nights.

I took this picture on Sunday :-)

I was exctied about Saturday! Allison is training for IronMan Louisville and during the Honu training I told her after I finished the race, I would continue to do long rides with her to support her IM training. I really enjoy these rides, it keeps me motivated and they are fun.

Her and Chris left from town and rode over the Pali and I met up with them in Kaneohe to continue up to Haliewa and back to the "Quick Release" house for the weekend festivities in support of our Time Trial on Sunday.

Here is a picture of Allison and I on the back porch after we got a hot shower. Allison and Chris put in 5 hours, me only 3:45. The 30mph wind made the finish of this ride very interesting! GREAT JOB ALLISON!

So, the rest of the afternoon was spent at the QR house doing packet and race waiver preps. I couldn't ask for a more entertaining group. I love spending time with them all. We had a family style dinner in the evening and the boys set up 4 tents out in the yard so all of us had places to sleep. There ended up being a total of 32 people at the house on Saturday night. (this made Sunday morning entertaining for me, while creeping through the house in my compression tights.... people were rising up from every little corner in the house) I guess you had to be there.

After sleeping in a tent again this Saturday night, I had a pretty good 40k race on Sunday. The morning started early with 20 people in the kitchen craving coffee and toasting bagels ;-) I just enjoyed being in the family like atmosphere that I have never really got to experience. This has made race weekends with friends the best weekends ever!

Race Registration went smoothly and then right before the athlete meeting the rain came down. It cleared up for a bit and at about mile 9 or 10 of the race the rain paid me a visit again.

I felt good and strong and positive on my bike and regardless of what my finish time ended up being, I was just happy about my race. After I seen that I averaged over 21 mph in that wind and rain I was even happier. My brother attempted his first time trial but a piece of glass in the tire got the best of him a few miles in. I am hoping that he wants to give it another shot in the near future. Racing yourself is fun!!

After a nice relaxing afternoon back at the QR house, we headed over to Turtle Bay for some snorkeling in murky wind swell water and "hot tub time". During the winter this is one of my favorite things to do after a nice cold surf sesh on the north shore. Since Sunday was so windy and cool it felt like winter. The hot tub is outside along the Bay's edge for the most breathtaking scenery.

After we made it home, I spent some quality time taking care of my bike after the fun weekend we had together. I am currently ready to buy a TT bike and I am very excited. The only thing is that I HATE SHOPPING!! I wish I didn't have to go look for it, I would rather use my free time to surf than shop.

I am soooo not girly in that department :-)

Hopefully I will have a new bike to post pictures of in the near future!

Brent "my brother"

2009-06-16T18:41:00.001-07:00

Aloha, Since this blog was created for my family I wanted to post a blog of pictures of me and Brent. He has been living here with me for a year now and we have had some good times.
To the right is his first hike up to Olomana Peak, it was a great hike with beautiful views.

Here we are to at the beach on his birthday! Not long after he first arrived on the island.

Right is our visit to the Volcanos National Park on the Big Island. And below is the Race For a Cure 5k (3.2 mile) run around a park in Waikiki. Brent survived!!

As brother and sister there has been lots of ups and downs, but I am very happy that Brent came here to live with me and experience life in "Paradise" for a year or so before I have to say goodbye in in the next few months.

Of course, this is Halloween..... and below is a day on the Big Island before we went to snorkel.

LOVE YOU MAN!!

Pretty Flowers

2009-06-11T22:38:00.000-07:00

For those of you who don't know, I am a lover of flowers and pretty things. I know this sounds super girly, but it is what it is :-) I sure hope that my best friend Melanie reads this blog for sure!! Melanie has always enjoyed making fun of me and my love for the "Pretty Flowers" Once I was on deployment and I received a postcard from Melanie when she lived in Denver that was AWESOME!! It had dried flowers between clear plastic on the card with Melanies' handwritting..... Terri, Look at the "PRETTY FLOWERS"

So Melanie, these pictures are dedicated to

you and your great sense of humor that I lub!!

Isn't Hawaii beautiful! I am so happy to live in a place where I am surrounded by beautiful things on a daily basis. I really never want to leave here!!

North Shore Triathlon

2009-06-09T15:04:00.001-07:00

Sunday 7th of June was my first North Shore Sprint...... The fun of this triathlon was camping down the road on the beach the night before. Here is a few shots of our campsite :-) I am glad that Chris came up with the idea, I ended up having a good race even after sleeping in a tent :-)

The race started at 6am which didn't give everyone much time in the morning to get their motors running if you know what I mean. We loaded our bikes in to Chris' car and headed to the beach park. I was glad he drove me the 100 yds or more to the start so I had no chance of crashing my bike before the race start like I did at the Lanikai race. I find it hard to believe that I had a faster bike on the Lanikai after that mishap..... oh well, I did just do a Half Ironman the weekend before so I am using that as my excuse (ha,ha)

I got in a little 5 min warm up run and headed down to the rocky beach to check out the water entrance and exit.... All that I can say is that I am very thankful I didn't have a run in with the reef. Some of my friends were not so lucky, but they had amazing races!!

I am very excited to start my swim clinic next week because this girls needs alot of swimming!! It took me 11+ mins to do a 400m swim (even though there was a long run after the water exit) that is just not an excuse! I will get better!!

I loved the bike (as usual) The only thing about being a slower swimmer I like is getting to pass lots of people, nothing to brag about that is for sure :-) The bike was fast and fun!

I had the quickest T2 ever of under a minute, this is a record for me and hope to get better with time and practice. Last September when I did my first sprint at the Na Wahine, I thought it was ok just to chit chat and smile to everyone in T1 and T2.... I am learning that these are just as important as the swim, bike, and run stuff :-)

I finished my run hard and I feel like I pushed as good as I could for the run. I am happy with my results and honestly this little race is exactly what I needed to get out of the "post Honu" slump that I was in. I am ready to try and get stronger and faster!!

I had a bunch of friends that were racing and I was so happy to see my cycling buddies doing the relays!! Everyone did so great!! The coolest part of this race was just being on the North Shore early in the morning with a bunch of people getting sweaty and smiling!! This is why I love this stuff so much and what better place to do this than Hawaii, do I really have to leave this place?????

PS: Don't worry Zach, your bikes will be here soon so you can play! Thanks for the pictures and joining us for some quick camping :-)

18 holes, surf, and BBQ

2009-06-08T18:37:00.000-07:00

JUNE 2nd 2009

OK, today I did even worse on the golf course, but atleast we got to play the back nine of the course that runs along the ocean.

This view is worth my humiliation of my brother beating me, but I had a great time out there!!

I got to entertain myself with the golf cart and my plaid shorts.

I suck at putting.... but atleast I did PAR the last two holes of the day so I kind of redeemed myself before we finished. Now were are off to the beach!!

Dad braved it and got on a surfboard for the first time in his life! I have to say that I am pretty impressed with his bravery and paddling skills. GOOD JOB!!

We had to get a family photo with our boards!

I forgot how painful it is on the ribs when you are a new surfer. I have been surfing for a few years, but since I have been wrapped up in triathlon I haven't surfed much at all and my ribs really suffered from the surf sesh from the day before OUCH!!!

Back on Oahu

2009-06-08T18:26:00.000-07:00

1st June 2009

After we return from the Big Island, I take the focus off me and place it on my dad and brother. It is time for me to get schooled on the golf course!! Brent's first time ever touching golf clubs and he still manages to whoop up on me.

I had a great time out on the course even though I am a little rusty! Before I fell in love with surfing, I would spend my after work hours and weekends out on the golf courses here in Hawaii and I was pretty good. You would not know that if you had been here on those days....

After the green, I got to get in the blue..... my favorite!! Dad and Brent chilled out in the shade and have a few beers while I got to catch some waves EVERYONE IS HAPPY!!

Later I took them on a quick "Terrish" version of a tour of Pearl Harbor. It turned out to be a nice evening and I think that Brent and Dad enjoyed the shorter version of what could be an all day event.

This tower is one of the few things that still stands from back in 1941 (date of attack) If you watch the movie Pearl Harbor you will see it.

Of course Brent had to end the day by taking Dad to his favorite local kine grinds..L&L Drive In

While they ordered their BBQ Mixed Plates..... I found some interesting things hanging on the walls inside.

Day after the Race

2009-06-08T18:19:00.000-07:00

31st May 2009

Ahh.... I feel accomplished

RACE COMPLETE, QUADS TORN Yep, I think that I need some more hill training since my legs were so sore.... that is just a guess?? Early this morning I wanted to drive dad up our bike course of the race to Hawi and beyond to Pualolo Valley shown here

and then we made our way to the beautiful country of Waimea! Here are some photos: The temp at our beach house was around 80 and up here in Waimea was around 68 and it felt really nice on my sunburn body!

Later that day we got to snorkel down the road from our house at Puako Bay and that was super fun... Thanks Chris for entertaining us all with your sea creatures!

We got all packed up and got to stop by Kona Brewing Company for a beer before our trip back home...... who could ask for a better weekend??

Mahalos to all my friends and my family for making HONU 2009 one of the best trips of my life!

RACE DAY!!!

2009-06-08T17:54:00.000-07:00

30th May 2009

It is 4:15am and I wake up before my alarm.... I am ready for this!! I kinda beat the Distraction to his coffee duties since I was up so early :-) This mornings agenda is to drink, eat, go to bathroom and get to the race start :-) Oh yeah... and finish the race of course

While Dad, Brent, and I were walking to T1 I couldn't contain my excitement, I wanted to run. This is the biggest race that I have ever been in and I was ready. I pumped my tires, got my water and my food on my bike, and strolled down to get body marked. It was crowded and loud and I liked it. 5 years ago, I would have needed to be in a club or bar for kicks, but this is WAY BETTER THAN THAT!! I ran into a few old friends and got my picture with Mike before the start, he decided to do this race last year about the same time as me.

I think both of us were clueless on how to swim or ride a bike at the time. WAY TO GO MIKE, you had a great race!!

I was excited to see Brent and Dad when I came out of the water (5 mins faster than I had expected) and now I am off for a nice hot 56 mile fun ride ;-)
The bike for me was great, I felt good and kept telling myself to remember that this is a longer race and not push to hard in the beginning. I had to remind myself to save it for the 13 fun miles of running that was next. After the bike leg I get to T2 and the volunteers made me play Where's Waldo with my bike slot..... they had me going all over the place. I think it would have been better if they wouldn't have told me anything and let me find it on my own :-( Oh well, I am sure that someone else had a longer than 6 minute T2 (isn' t that crazy!!) I put on a bandaid, some sunscreen, and took another pee and I was gone.... all smiles coming out of T2!!

HOT HILLS LAVA HOT

These words pretty much cover the run course :-) I was in pretty good spirits the whole time, I was just so stoked to be doing this thing!! I stopped at mile 3 to get another bandaid for my hot spot on my toes and I took a little to much time enjoying the aid stations, but I had a good run. I didn't start hating myself until about mile 10 so I was happy with that.

After the race, I couldn't really enjoy myself. Something was "off" with my body! My head hurt and I just wanted to cover up my head and lay down. I didn't have the energy to do anything, but managed to force some food in my mouth. I think it took me an hour to be able to have a conversation with my Dad and Brent. Thank you both for being there for me and treating me like a superstar after the race! I really appreciate it!

So we headed back to the house after my attempt to feel normal again. I don't think that I ever really felt normal for the rest of the day. I am happy with that because it makes me feel like I gave that race everything that I had in me.

I want to say thanks to my supporters at the race.... Thank you Brent, Dad and Debra!!! It is so nice to see your faces while I am suffering with a smile!!

I also want to thank my friends (you know who you are) Who were out there racing that day.... I look up to you all for being such great athletes and friends and just great people in general. You are all what makes this sport so much more fun and I love you for that!! YOU MOTIVATE ME!!

Day Before the Race

2009-06-08T17:42:00.000-07:00

Here was one of Dad's favorite spots......

29th May 2009

Aloha! I have failed at my attempt to be a good blogger since I was on vacation so I am going to give this another shot and redeem myself. My last report was from the Big Island before the Honu. WOW!! What a perfect race weekend, I had so much fun. Not only did I enjoy the race that I have been looking forward to and training for what seems like FOREVER, but I got to spend time with great friends and family and make some NEW FRIENDS to!! Here is a family photo from the view that we had at our beach house.....

I would wake up way to early every morning and go outside to enjoy the peaceful morning. I loved every second staying here for our trip. We had many little green friends that lived in the house with us, I wish the Geckos' were this pretty at my house on Oahu (I should have taken a few home with me) They are great insect control and they bring good luck.

The day before the race included an early morning swim (FUN FUN) FL got to follow my bubbles and on the way back we got to see some cute fish and a turtle... we yelled to Maggs who had her video camera and she got some great footage :-) Here is a picture of us after our short swim.

Since this was my first race with real aid stations on the bike I wanted to practice the bottle exchange/pickup as FL had suggested that she do so Dad and Brent kindly held water bottles for us to fly by and grab. I quickly realized that I need to go slower. Here is a picture of me after my short 15 minute run after my bike, can't you tell I am excited for the race tomorrow??

Later in the evening Dad and Brent made their way into Kona Town and I stayed at the house to prepare my things for race morning as you see here and I had a chance to lay around and relax. I still felt a little under the weather from being sick so I wanted to let my body rest up. We had another great family dinner oceanside with the nice sunset in the VOG.....

Here is what Brent and Dad spent alot of time doing while were were on vacation... They love the grill :-)

Who could ask for a better pre-race day??? I LOVE HAWAII!!

OH YEAH.... I got to meet an amazing triathlete/surfer girl/mom :-)

Bree Wee just happened to walk up while I was at the Expo so I got to do a little chit chat and found out that I am not the only person that is getting over a sickness..... I am super tickled about the photo op that I got with her and her Lifesport add.... GREAT JOB AT REV3 BREE!!!

Big Island

2009-05-29T07:43:00.001-07:00

So, Wednesday we picked up dad and yesterday we got to the Big Island! I just love the pace of life over here so much and often fanticize about my retirement here :-) The weather is nice, still no wind at all and the sun is out and it is HOT!!! We go to the grocery to get some food for the trip and head to the beach house. Here is Dad and Brent picking out some "man meat" (steaks) for the weekend :-)

WOW!! I was so shocked at how cool our rental is! When we got here, I did a walkthrough of the cutestet beach house ever nad like Maggs said.... there are alot of bathrooms (ha,ha) That is a great thing when you have all these athletes staying in one big house together. I love this place!!

I went to race registration.. I am #1139, I droped off my bike-to-run gear and we were outta there; time for a swim. Hapuna Beach was bumping with people and boy did the water feel good! This was the first time that I was able to really do any sort of workout in a whole week due to being sick. IT FELT SO GOOD!!!

Dad and Brent enjoyed the water for a bit with me and then back to the house. I just wanted to go to sleep, but I got my bike ready and rolled out for the first ride in a week. At first it didn't feel so good, but after about 15 mins I felt much better and came back an topped that off with a 15 min run. Meanwhile, Brent and Dad were cooking up some "man steaks" on the grill and chilling around the house. What a perfect first day!

VOG

2009-05-27T19:51:00.000-07:00

There is absolutely no wind at all here and the VOG is back in town!! On the right side are photos from today and I think the left side was from a week ago or so.... Big difference, Huh??

This is the view from where I live, I am so happy with the eye candy here that I have never wanted to move! I was just thinking that if the Vog is so thick over here... I can't imagine how Kona is going to be :-( I just hope that the trades pick up on Sunday so the Vog can roll out so while my dad is visiting he can see the true beauty that Hawaii has to offer, instead of it looking like its on fire or it is LA!

Woot Woot, now I am officially on vacation! We are on our way to pick up Dad in a few minutes, well after I get some sushi in my tummy of course! ALOHA!

Excitement is here!!

2009-05-27T13:16:00.000-07:00

Here is a report from the Big Island (about the upcoming race) I thought that I would share it with you! I am getting pretty excited, my dad arrives this evening and in the morning I am off to Kona!!! ( here is the story "Kohala Coast is Heating Up for Ironman 70.3 Hawaii" Author: Dawn Henry May 27, 2009

Springtime along the Kohala Coast of Hawaii means three things: a brighter sun, hotter lava fields, and the convergence of an ever-growing field of triathletes to take part in Ironman 70.3 Hawaii. Last year, at the race's fifth anniversary celebration, the water was rough, the roads were melting in the heat and the winds were howling. Apparently, this was just what race participants were looking for. With its biggest anticipated field ever, the 2009 Ironman 70.3 Hawaii is set to host over 1,400 individuals from more than 20 countries on May 30th for a Hawaiian vacation, triathlon-style.

Over 400 participants will hail from the Aloha State itself. These Hawaiian triathletes will leave their laid-back lifestyles at home as they compete for 20 State of Hawaii and 30 Big Island qualifying slots to the 2009 Ford Ironman World Championship. The rest of the age-grouper field will have a chance to compete for 28 additional slots to Kona. The race also offers 50 qualifying slots for the Foster Grant Ironman World Championship 70.3 in Clearwater, Florida.

Competitors will enjoy an ocean swim in the clear, blue waters of Hapuna Bay, and run to T1 through the fine white sand of Hapuna Beach State Park, routinely recognized as one of the most spectacular beaches in the world. The bike course takes place on the fabled "road to Hawi," a rollercoaster ride along the sparkling Kohala Coast where even the downhill portions of the race have uphills. Heat, humidity and winds are the name of the game on this hard-boiled course surrounded by roiling hills of lava and the wide-open Hawaiian sky.

T2 will be located on the grounds of the The Fairmont Orchid, Hawaii, race partner and the luxurious host hotel. Competitors will then take on a broiling run course through manicured grounds, along coastal pathways, over award-winning golf fairways, and past petroglyph fields and tidal basins.For all of its climatic challenges, Ironman 70.3 Hawaii comes with abundant aloha. Taking place in an historic area of the Big Island where kings reigned and rested, triathletes have come to feel that they're being treated like royalty.

The overflowing aloha of the race volunteers brings a festive air to the weekend and competitors can't help but feel lucky to be racing Hawaii-style.Join us on Sunday for our coverage of Ironman 70.3 Hawaii that will include live timing, updates and a full wrap-up story on the race.

I enjoyed that write up, I will have more of my own excitement to share later :-) Thank goodness I am starting to feel better!!!

HURDLES

2009-05-25T16:03:00.000-07:00

Today is Memorial Day and many folks are out at the beach or paying their respects to loved ones or fallen heroes. I am in this position here in the picture stuck at home still feeling like a run down machine. I gave my bike ride a shot today and felt dizzy and like I was going to vomit after so I decided to call it a day on the training note.It seems as though ever since I started training for this race (on Saturday) there has been one hurdle after another. It started with the "finger" incident. I had a little hurdle with 7 stitches in my pinky finger as you will see in the picture below. Another silly thing I did was crash my bike the morning of the Lanikai triathlon and had a bum knee for over a week. Well, here we are now... days before the race and I am layed up on the couch looking like Robin from Batman only severely beaten or hungover :-) Well, close enough anyways!! My opinion on this whole thing is that this is just another hurdle that I have to cross. I have friends that have had many trials and tough days during training or races and they just keep on moving with their head up high so I am going to do the same thing. I will spend the rest of my day lying around and resting so my body will hopefully forgive me for the punishment that I have been putting it through for the thrill of crossing that finish line with a smile on Saturday!!

A Year Ago

2009-05-24T22:00:00.000-07:00

About a year ago in 2008, I went with my boyfriend at the time to the Big Island for 4 days to watch him and some friends race this thing called "the Honu". A long race in my eyes! 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike ride, 13.1 mile run = 70.3 I didn't enjoy the trip as much as I hoped. We did alot of "chilling" before race day to let the athletes rest up. I was so bored!! Race day was exciting, I got to see all of the athletes getting ready for the race and seeing everyone race was super exciting and it motivated me. I told myself that day..... I will do this race next year!! Well, it is 2009 and I am racing this year and really excited about it. I am pretty proud of myself, I set a goal of completing this race before I even owned a bike or had ever even tried to swim freestyle in a pool or the ocean. The only thing I was a surfer who ran :-) I am gonna do this!!

I bought a bike in July 2008 and started riding with BOCA, thank goodness! I learned alot by having coaches to tell you things you other wise would be clueless. I didn't have any time to loose :-) After the training was over, I did my first 100 mile ride in September along with my very first triathlon in September (all women's Na Wahine Triathon) I loved doing the race and did other ones in October and November. All of these were short races around 500m swim, 12 mile bike ride, 3 mile run (sprint)

In the winter months, I continued to ride with a group called Quick Release "the bikefactory guys/gals" What a fun group, they know how to have a great time no matter what the event. Here is a picture from the K-bay Criterium bike race.

I also kept on running to keep myself in shape. January I started riding in another BOCA clinic with organized workouts, coaches and lots of fun people. The goal of this training was to climb Haleakala 10,000ft mountain on Maui. This is a photo of some of us at the top!

After the Maui trip was the start of the Triathlon training with BOCA. This is an amazing group of people, not only are they amazing athletes, they are all smart, fun, talented and amazing people that I just love to be around. Here is a picture of the group on the Big Island during our training weekend.

So, this is just my year of activities in a nutshell to give you a backgroud of why I started this "triathlon stuff" and the reason that I love all of this so much is from the people and the fun that I have during the training.

May is Military Appreciation Month

2009-05-21T12:03:00.000-07:00

I am pretty darn excited that today is the last workday for four days and next week I only have two work days :-) Today at lunch I will be attending a Hawaii Military Appreciation Luncheon at the Hilton, I am being awarded the Outstanding Sailor of the Year Award. All services Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard and National Guard are being recognized today so I think this is pretty neat that I get to represent my brothers and sisters in the Navy. I hope that I smile good :-) I recently had one of the most memorable experiences in my Navy career by being a Pacific Fleet Shore Sailor of the Year Finalist. I got to participate in a week long shin-dig/ review to compete to win and move to the next level of competition in Washington DC. I didn't win, but it was a great experience that I will cherish for the rest of my life. Here is a picture with some of the folks that have helped me get to this milestone in my career.

You can read about the Sailor of the Year Competition at http://mooringlines.blogspot.com/ and at http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=44712

Here is a picture of all of the service members recognized at the Luncheon, I am the 3rd from the right (the first man on the right was a presenter of awards) I am between the Army and the Coast Guard guys.

The greatest thing about today is that I received two round-trip tickets to the Big Island and a Two night stay at Kiluea Military Camp (at Volcano National Park) for two! I got $100 gift certificate from Tesoro Gas Station, and a Turtle Bay Escapes Free membership (value $219) includes one night stay, one round of golf and other benefits! I sure didn't expect these things when I got this award but it was a nice suprise.

Here I am with a great gal PSC Rachelle Familia, she has helped me so much with my quest to become a chief/LDO and just better person all around. I am very thankful that she is part of my family! Thanks Rachelle!!

Should Tuesday be this Fun??

2009-05-20T14:55:00.000-07:00

I started my morning feeling sore from head to toe... even my scalp hurt. Yesterday I went to Bikram Yoga class for the first time in way to long. I felt great during the class, but I am paying for my "sweet yoga moves" today :-) I attend Bikram in Kailua, this is a class where the temp is a calm 104 degrees. I am going to go as much as I can before my race next Saturday, this is something to keep me entertained since my training time is shorter and this will help my body perform better.

I got to go to Kalihi Elementary School to help kids in the homework lab. This was super fun since I got the 3rd grade girls. Wow! I forgot how hard math is :-)

Chris told me the BOCA swim was canceled due to the Box Jellyfish warning. I needed to swim so he suggested that we swim at Coconut Island, I was excited.. this would be my first visit.

I immediately said yes. Luckily I wasn't supposed to do anything more than a 20 min easy swim because I kept getting distracted from all of the cool underwater life below me. HUGE CORAL HEADS and tons of fish. After the swim, Chris showed me the "shark tank" but to me the coolest cat in there was the purple puffer fish trying to huff and puff and knock down some crabs to eat. Thanks Chris for a fun time on your island!!

Then I got to rush into town to make it to meet the group, I made it as everyone was heading out so I caught up with them. We enjoyed a nice short run interval workout followed with some stretching and laughs. Everyone was going to Wahoos, but I wasn't in the mood for that food so Chris suggested GREEK and I am so glad that he did :-) He took me to a great little joint in Kahala called the Olive Tree. It was so yummy! I am just pretty amazed at how eventful my Tuesday was and how much fun I had. What a great day to start my blog.