fun facts friday

March 30, 2012

I don’t have a clever enough title for the post today….so it’s labeled fun facts Friday.

This post is filled with all sorts of fun facts.

Like this one:

Fact: Lice here in Hawaii are called UKU’s.

Not to be confused with playing the UKUlele.

Fact: Don’t yell at a kid and say “go grab the UKU”. They will be confused and might possibly scream.

Fact: I realized i do not like running at all.

I say that everytime i get up and head out….

but i made it a whole 5 miles last week though.

And then i ran another five miles again.

Fact: My knees hurt and i’m too old to be running.

People pass me by all the time…..but slow and steady finally makes it to the end.


*I made Kale chips for the first and last time ever. I realize most of you love them…

so i thought i would give it a go.

Fact: I didn’t realize they wouldn’t taste like cheetos.

We even seasoned them with sea salt and evoo.

They sat on my counter for two whole days and we all just sort of looked at them the entire time.

I’m the only one that tried them.

We fed them to the wild chickens……and even the wild chickens just looked at them.

*I found some tea that i though bryan could drink ….but apparently he’s more 

interested in the deli meat.

Fact: i’m going to give him the tea to drink this morning and see what happens.

*I said shoot me if i mentioned running again…..

Fact: i’m down 3 more pounds since my Strong is the new skinny post.

Fact: I hate running and won’t bore you with anymore running stories.

I won’t even tell you about the day i though i could text a quick message while running and tripped.

Don’t run and text.

If you can get past the early mid 90′s look of high wasted belted jeans on me….

and oversized plaid shirt paired with olive green cords on Bryan…..

you’ll get to see us standing with Rita Wilson and Tom Hanks {and Rita’s sister Lily}

at my aunts house when we lived in Vail.

{living in the mountains must explain the look}

I only show you this photo because…

1. Bryan found it the other day stashed in his folder

and

2. well…..we are standing with Tom and Rita.

Because we had only met them once….we thought it would be fun to invite them to our wedding.

Fact: They didn’t come.

It’s ok….no hard feelings….but look at how my arm is entwined with Rita’s…..

and how Lily’s head is resting on Bryan’s shoulder.  I think they liked us.

p.s. If you tune in tonight on NBC you’ll get to see Rita and Lily on an episode of “who do you think you are”.

My girlfriend Jill  from Oregon is visiting with her family this week….

and i was lucky enough to get together with her yesterday and

we had drinks poolside.

Fact: 2 of them.

Fact: Ginger lemonades.

Honest to goodness fact: Vodka sure is good in lemonade.

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Eight months

March 27, 2012


I don’t want you to get the title of the post “Eight months” confused with me being 8 months pregnant…

because sadly….this is how i felt when we all got together to do these family photos back in November.

Today marks our 8th month on the island of Kauai.

The time is flying by faster than you can say…..

“i’m sitting in bed blogging with a glass of wine on the nightstand”.

For some reason these last few weeks i’ve been getting emails from readers asking me my opinion on

up and moving away for a year and how it’s working for us…

so i thought now would be as good of a time as any to just lay down the facts for you.

There are 2 different sets of people in the world.

The doers and the watchers.

It’s okay to be a doer but sometimes in the back of your mind you wish you could just sit and watch.

It’s also okay to be a watcher because it means you are safe.

The watchers are content in their life.

The doers are content as well…..but they feel like there is something else out there.

Something next.

If you know our story….you know that we are not watchers. We tend to move around every 4 years or so….

but we were pretty content living in Illinois till Bryan lost his job….and once he lost his job….

well….the doers in us decided we needed a change.

Change is good. For us at least.

Not everyone needs change. 

I had never met anyone {personally}that just up and moved somewhere for a year or two on a whim….

but because i blog….i knew of a few bloggers that did just that. 

Up and move for a year or two.

One of the blogs i read is {oh happy day} and they up and moved to France for a year.

The other blog is {design mom}. Yes..they are sisters…and they both moved their families to France…

{and yes i did email them asking them if they need another sister but they declined my offer}

I would have loved to move to France…..but because we were somewhat realistic in what Bryan could do

for work…..we decided on the island of Kauai and living a beach life.

I’ve known people that move across the country….but to me that’s safe.

Get a job. Sell your house. Move across the country.

We rented out our house….put everything in storage….sold a car…shipped a car…

and here we are…on month 8.

{not to be confused with being 8 months pregnant…thank you very much}

It’s one thing to up and move somewhere completely different if you have a job transfer….

vs.

up and moving on a whim because life gave you some lemons and you decided to squeeze them for all their worth.

The cold hard facts: 

*We have no money….and by no money…i mean…

NO MONEY

*what used to be weekly date nights back home means we have lunch dates while the kids are in school

so we don’t have to get a sitter.

*People always asking when are we coming home.

Well….we will come home if and when bryan gets a job that will pay our mortgage..but till then

we plan on staying here like planned. That means through the summer….

and it might mean we are here for a little longer. A job waiting tables is better than no job at all.

*Finding a job is going to be hard.

If you don’t have funds to get you through till you {or hubby} finds a job…then that might 

give you a heart attack. Lucky for us Bryan found a job {he has 2 right now} within the first month.

*Insurance.

This was the most important thing for us. We needed to have benefits but there were 2 months that we didn’t

and that was really scary.

*No one understands.

I am only saying this because i know first hand what it’s like. People tend to think just because we live on Kauai

that we are drinking Mai Tai’s on the beach every afternoon.

Okay….i drink wine from a box…….and my left brake light was out on my mini {van not cooper} for

a month before i could get around to taking it in to get it replaced and not only that but my kids had

to call me to come get them at school because they were denied bus privileges because i was late in paying

for the bus fare. {yes….we have to pay for the bus here}

On the positive side:

Everyone’s life back home is still the same….our friends are still doing the same thing…..

and will still be there when we get back.

We might not have a whole lot of money….but we are living a different LIFE for a year.

The kids made new friends.

We have a new appreciation for what Simple means.

I can really live with only one pair of knee high boots for an entire year.

We’ve gone hiking….i’ve taken the kids camping….my kids have learned to surf…..they play the ukulele….

i train with Gabby Reece…..we spend Friday evenings on the beach…….the kids don’t wear shoes to school…..

we’ve made friends……we eat better…the ocean is in our backyard…..the kids have been stung by jellyfish and survived.

We always wanted a french bulldog but we have gecko’s instead.

This is living . To us anyway.

And who needs a DVR anyway! I watch television in real time.

we sneak into hotel hot tubs

{and since i’ve never mentioned the story on the blog….i might as well finish it.}

Remember at the beginning of the month

when the kids were home because of all the rain we’ve had? Well… we sneaked to the Hotel next door {with friends}

and the rule in hot tub land is that kids should not be in them. There was a balding {not that it matters..} man in the hot tub and he told my friend and i that our children should not be in the Hot tub. It was stated in the rules.

So my friend and i so gently told our well behaved kids that they would need to get out because of the invisible Hot Tub rules that said….

 no children in hot tubs.

So……

once they all got out of the hot tub….i made sure to pee in it.

I know what you are thinking……..

Kasey sneaked her kids into a hotel hot tub and then she pee’d in it when a man asked her kids to vacate.

HELL YES I DID.

Okay….i’m sorry….i’ll never do it again. I promise.

Pinky.

Three fingers up in the air. The Hungry Games solute.

Please don’t leave rude comments on my blog because i’m

still trying to get over all the comments from the wedding crash of 2011.

Sheet.

How did i get off topic people?!

It must be the wine on the nightstand.

Damn you fine boxed wine.

Anyhoo…..i just want to say that we wouldn’t change a thing….we made a decision to

do something different and i can happily say that it’s all been worth it.

Every single day.

{comments are now closed. Thank you.}

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girl and the goat {beach version}

March 16, 2012

It’s probably hard to believe……

but i’m going to say it really quick to give you a minute to absorb what i’m about to tell you.

Are you ready……

okay….them maybe you should sit down before you read the next line.

I took the kids camping.

I’ll let you sit on that for a minute…..while i go and grab another glass of fine boxed wine.

Are you hyperventilating?

Just take a deep breath……and grab your own glass of fine boxed wine.

Bryan and i aren’t your typical camper-type people….i tell you this because

my idea of roughing it is staying at a Hotel that has changed the H to an M.

We actually…..and don’t freak out here when i mention it….but we did camp once for an entire week

back in our courting years …..which is a good 15 years ago…..and we borrowed my brothers truck to 

drive up to Wyoming where we camped Devils Tower…..then over to South Dakota where we camped

Mt. Rushmore.

We even did a few one nighters

{not to be confused with swinging…}

in and around the mountains of Colorado back when we lived in Vail.

So….anyhoo….what i’m trying to say is that ……i have been camping before…..

it’s just been a very long time.

Funny how things work out….because not once did we ever think of going camping while we lived

in Illinois….and the one time i mentioned just getting a tent to throw in the backyard so that the kids

could have fun pretending like we camped….

all i could think about was that would be the night some serial murderer was on the hunt in our town.

Fast forward to Kauai…..the year that the Buick family up and does something  off  the radar.


What i’ve figured out so far this year…..

is this:

You don’t up and move to the island of Kauai if you don’t like to be outdoors.

period…end of story….because if you don’t like to be outdoors and active…then pack up and go home.

I don’t have anywhere to pack up and head back to…..so i jumped on the train that is taking me the

route home that i never thought i would be on.

Luckily for me…..my friends here are all very outdoorsy…

they surf

they hike

they swim

and good thing they like a good glass of fine boxed wine as well.

{at least we have ONE thing in common}

After 2.5 weeks of raining…..and i’m not kidding when i say that even the long time Locals were

starting to freak out…..that we started seeing a little sunshine and my friends and their families

decided to pack up {it’s Spring Break here this week} and drive to Polihole beach.

Bryan had to work…..and because he doesn’t have a flexible schedule….and the fact that after all the

rain we’ve had…..he couldn’t take any time off because every dollar counts these days….

 he just wasn’t able to join us camping.

{yes you read that right…..Bryan did not get to go…….}

So….here we are….

the night before everyone is heading out to go camping…..and all i’m thinking about is

 do i go or not….

yes or no

feather pillows or duvet

fine boxed wine or freshly squeezed green juice

{obviously…the fine boxed wine won}

and since we have no tent or sleeping bags…..we had to stop by my favorite place on earth….

Walmart

where i bought a 4 person tent…..and a few foam pads so that i could lay my feather duvet on….

and we could all sing 

kumbaya… at night.

Thank goodness at last minute i grabbed some bars of soap and wet wipes ….{thank you inner girl camper} 

because it’s little things like that …..

that make you not vomit when the kids crawl into the tent with black hands and fingernails all ready for bed.

{i would like to take this moment to officially thank the maker of wet wipes……}


Polihole is on the completely opposite side of us….as far as you can drive….and the driest side of the island.

You can only access Polihole beach by driving 8 miles on a dirt road that is so filled with divots and pot holes

that you really think you will get a flat tire and have to hitchhike the rest of the way in.

{if you have a rental car….it is HIGHLY advised that you don’t try it…..so be safe and rent a jeep or a 4×4}

But lucky for us…..we relied on good ole mini {van not cooper} to get us in and get us out.

We made it in and the kids helped me put our tent together……

which i would like to state the fact that it is so easy bake oven easy

to take that tent out of it’s package and put together….

but does anyone ever take the tent down after camping…only to get it to fit right back into

the little zip up case like it came? 

Or can we just all agree that the tents all come home from camping in a garbage bag tied with a 

rubber-band?

Can i get an Amen?

After putting up the tent….we made our way to the beach.

{which is where i am going to add……it’s the only type of camping i’ll do from now on}

We……{my three kids and myself} had only planned on going for one night.

The reason for one night is actually a smart plan if you ask me….and since you just asked….i’ll tell you why.

One night is great because if you don’t sleep well…..

or you have nightmares that there is a tsunami……

or hear mountain goats when you should be hearing crickets….

{and you know i love me some goats….}

then one night is the perfect answer to pack up the next day and head back home.

But…..even though i heard the mountain goats….

i dreamed of tsunami’s….

and i felt like i slept on the ground instead of a mattress….

we stayed an extra night.

red wine in glass jars with sunsets help of course….
and happy children.

Very happy children.

Children that keep telling you they had the best time ever…….

even though they are filled with mosquito bites and you are pretty damn sure that

your head itches not because of lice but because of  sand…..

and going to the bathroom in the middle of the night while carrying your own roll of toilet paper….

because it’s all worth it in the end.


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