ahoy there

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I am getting calls from my mom and dad some worried people wondering if i have fallen off the face of the planet……

but do not despair…..

if you are still checking in to read this here blog…..good news.

This is a new post.

Note to self: Call mom and mother-in-law and inform them that there is updated blog post.

I will admit….i’ve taken a breather…….and sitting here to write has not been at the top of my priority list….

i want you to know that sometimes i sit down to write out a post….but my mind goes blank…..

and i lost my thoughts into jumped up sentences that don’t flow here or there…..so i leave it unpublished…

and for that i apologize.

I know our time here is short…..and i have this overwhelming urge to write it all down so that not a moment is forgotten

but then when i do sit down….i know that this goes worldwide and for some odd reason or another…..

our story seems to be just that.

just a story

but one thing i know for sure is that our story is pretty awesome and i wouldn’t change it for the world.

So…..if you are still here reading…..i thank you.

Sometimes i just need breathers like everyone else……..

Note to self: don’t drink vodka then write…..breathers means breather…..

my home needs to be cleaned……i still work a part time job……

the kids still need to get to places and there is the beach that we have a date with every other day.

Let me get you all caught up on these last few weeks.

check check

First of all……grapefruit juice and vodka with just a teeeeny tiny bit of ginger is still really good….

and i would just like to say it’s healthy and because of the medicinal effects of what is in the grapefruit….

with the added benefit of a dash {or more} of vodka because as we all know….

vodka keeps the germs away.

You know the old saying……

an apple a day…….

a little bit of vodka a day keeps the doctor away

Note to self: Out of vodka…..buy more.

IMG_0784Sorry….back to our regularly scheduled program.

How was your Holiday?

good?

Is it really almost the end of January….for crying out loud?!?

I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that it is now 3rd weed of January.

Sorry….i didn’t mean WEED….i meant week.

It must be the freshly squeezed ginger talking…..

but anyhoo.

Christmas eve the kids and i hopped on a red eye flight to Florida to see the grandparents.

It was their gift from Nanna and Poppy….and seeing that they couldn’t really fly 11 hours solo….i decided to

tag along with them.

Thank you Nanna and Poppy.

We boarded a red eye flight Christmas night and the entire flight was empty.….

as in….

there were a grand total of 45 people on a flight that normally holds over 150…..so as you can imagine….

a red eye flight and three tired kids…..

they each claimed their own row….laid down and slept the entire flight to Phoenix.

I stayed up and had 2 glasses of wine and watched the movie.

I sorta figured i could catch up on sleep at another time…..because how often am i by myself

with a movie and the beverage cart not far from row 26.

that’s right….

i fell asleep about an hour from landing and let me just say the next flight from Phoenix to Florida was a little rough.

rough

hard

i will never do that again.

ever

in the history of the world

thankyouverymuch

but we will…..because we had an amazing time.

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We didn’t land till early evening on the 26th…..and needless to say….i might have crawled right into bed.

The next morning we all slept in…..

{can i get an AMEN to the 5 hour time change going EAST}

and once we got up and dressed……Bryan’s dad loaded us up and wanted to take us out on the boat.

We also knew that we probably only had one or two days of sunshine before weather was supposed to hit

the area…..so we soaked up the sunshine…..

in our sweaters and hats.

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IMG_0589Note to self:  Remember to tell mom that those are not beer cans in the above photo, just coke cans.
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on one of the days we hit the farmers market……

and needless to say……

i was introduced to my very first ever red velvet donut.

I still wake up at night thinking about those things………
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IMG_0621they were in fact the best thing i’ve ever had since the introduction to the Hanalei.

trust me
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We also did things like visit the Loggerhead marine center in Juno where we saw a bunch of rescued Loggerhead turtles…

we took a diva duck tour around Palm Beach…..

i even snuck out one evening and met a friend for drinks and then went to the movies

all

by

myself

and i saw Les Mis.

It was wonderful.

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And on our very last night in Florida……….

{let me remind you we were only there for 5 whole days…..and not a single minute longer……}

my friend turned soul sister who would be my sister wife if we ever moved to Florida

invited the kids and i over for an evening at the Farm.

{you might remember my original post about Fig & Fauna from last summer}

anyhoo……Megan had us over and this time i brought the kids with me.

Note to self: must buy a farm in near future.

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that is Megan above with her inspiration wall.

She doesn’t know it yet…..but i stole a few of those photos from the wall…..so if you are reading this post

Megan then i am sorry but i’m not giving them back.

well….i might give them back…..but i will need fresh eggs in return.

no pressure or anything

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The best part about the farm were the rabbits……

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who knew that kids could stay occupied for hours just playing with rabbits….

carrying them around like babies and loving on them.


Note to self: get a few rabbits

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This photo below is what my family would look like it i had one more child……

note to self: Talk bryan into having a vasectomy reversal

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but i don’t……

except i do know one thing……

Fin left the farm that night thinking he had a new girlfriend.

Little Dane might not know it yet……but Fin has her photo on his inspiration wall;-)

wink wink

just kidding mom……he does not have an inspiration wall.

{he keeps all his photos in his underwear drawer and the kid doesn’t even wear underwear so this is awkward}

Note to self: Have Fin start wearing underwear

Note to self again: Check and see if any kids are wearing underwear

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I don’t know if i have ever mentioned the fact that Lola does not eat pork.

She tried to go vegetarian last summer but realized that in the event that we would ever go to McDonalds

again that she would never be able to have chicken nuggets she traded in that option and instead 

declared herself a Pork free eater.

It’s because of her love of pigs.

Megan had 2 pigs……huge ones……Wallace and Gromit……

and at Megan’s farm…..they do in fact….eat the chickens and pigs and whatnot.

One of the first questions out of Lola’s mouth the minute we started hanging with the pigs was

“you don’t eat the pigs do you”?????????

Megan looked at me…..

i looked at Megan……

and i had my friend tell a lie.

I still feel horrible about that.

because you know…..people do eat pigs…..the pigs that they raise and it is a farm for crying out loud……

so thank you Megan…..because one little white lie helped keep Lola from crying right then and there and the whole

farm visit would have gone down hill fast.

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I didn’t get many photos this last trip of the inside of her house…..

it was getting dark fast and the light was fading……

plus the fact that Megan had served us up some cocktails and those needed tending to.

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Anyhoosier………..

back home here on Kauai…..life is going on as normal for the Buick family…..

these photos pretty much sum up our life ……

which is always how i’ve imagined it would.

Happy kids…..that are thriving and enjoying life to the fullest…….

{of course report cards just came home …….so there might not be good times for one child……}

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Note to self: Life is good

a little christmas spirit goes a long way

Even though it seems like the last 3 months have been a bit on the difficult side for our family……

we’ve made the best of what we can and are grateful and thankful that we have a happy,

healthy and thriving family.

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for that my heart is full.

Two years ago when we were living in Illinois….we bundled up the kids one day……hopped on the train and

headed into Chicago to spread some love.

You can read all about here {here}.

It’s been two years since we’ve done something like that and my heart was pulling at me to do something

this year with the kids here on Kauai. The homeless population is different here….no real downtown to do something

like what we had done but that didn’t stop me from trying to think outside the box.

plus we didn’t have one single extra dollar to spend 

that is till last Tuesday when i got home from work and there was an envelope from my godfather.

I haven’t seen him or his wife since our wedding but every year we still send a Christmas card to them

so i opened up the envelope and in it was a check for $150.

Then on Wednesday Mason was outside playing and our neighbor handed him $10 and wished

him a Merry Christmas as he was getting in his car to head to the airport and out of the country for a month.

Two different acts of kindness in two days.

How could we not think of something to do….and with what happened a week ago Friday….there was a whole lot

of random acts of kindness floating around lately….because so many of us were affected by that horrible shooting.

Later that afternoon i went into work to grab my paycheck and in it was almost like getting a bonus

because so far we had the kids Christmas gifts all paid for…..and sort of felt like we were right on track….

 even though our parents and siblings didn’t get much more than some Kauai love for Christmas this year….

we knew that they would understand and know that what we were going to do with this extra money

would mean so much more to them then something wrapped up in paper.

This time of year it’s also hard to hear my kids talk about what they want…..

what they think they should be getting.

It’ certainly takes the joy out of Christmas and the meaning of giving is lost.

That is why i felt so compelled to go forth and bless others who really could use the help

much more than we need it.

So this last Thursday…..we got up in the morning….and piled in the mini {van not cooper}

and headed to town.

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{we call going to town….going to the big city…which is Lihue and it’s not really a city…but you get the gist}

First stop was to Super-cuts.

Fin wanted a haircut and so when i walked in to inquire about the wait…..

i was told it was going to be about 30 minutes because there were 3 sisters getting their hair cut.

I saw the mom in the back standing next to the youngest girl who was probably around 5 years old

and i knew that this would be a family that would appreciate a blessing today.

I asked the cashier if maybe we could pay for the three girls haircuts….and her eyes got wide

and then she smiled really big.

We paid for the cuts and then we left a really nice tip for each of the stylists.

We also told the cashier that we wanted to do this anonymously ….

so when they checked out….the cashier told them that some elves had paid…and to have a Merry Christmas.

The mom smiled the biggest smile i’ve ever seen and my kids and i looked at each other with silent smiles

because it felt so good.

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Once Fin had his haircut……we were starving and headed to our favorite Brick oven pizza place.

Our favorite server was working …….so once again….our minds started playing overtime.

At first we were thinking we would just pay for someone else’s bill that was also dining in the restaurant

but it was just us and another couple who looked like they were visiting.

Because we know how much servers rely on their tips

we knew our server would appreciate a little love today.

Plus i had a glass of wine with lunch so i was starting to feel real good.

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oh….you might notice Fin’s new haircut in the photo below……

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I’m still trying to figure out how the cut went from

asking for a trim to a full on cut that now has him looking like Jim Carey from the movie 

Dumb and Dumber.

Anyhoo……

check check…..

after lunch we had one more stop.

This was to be our biggest stop yet…..

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We headed into Kmart.

Kmart does Layaway…..and i’ve heard here and there that on occasion people will go in and help

to pay off people’s purchases and so i stored that into the back of my brain for a day like this.

The kids and i walked in to Kmart…..found out that the layaway was in the back of the store

then headed back and got into the line that was 30 minutes deep.

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The kids were getting restless when we finally made our way to the front of the line and the cashier

asked us for our receipt and if we wanted to make a payment.

I casually mentioned that we were actually here to see if it would be possible to maybe

make some payments on some others lay-aways and if so….would she be able to help us out with it.

She immediately got on the phone and called the manager back.

I kept thinking sheet…….uh oh.

The last thing i wanted was for someone to get on the overhead speaker system and say aloud

“attention Kmart shoppers…..”

but she didn’t..……

what she did do was get the manager to come back to help her because no one had ever done this before

at their Kmart. I asked the manager if it was possible that we help pay for families that only have toys 

left or on hold for their layaway.

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She pulled up 5 families for us….and then told us she would call each of these 5 families and let them know

some elves came in and helped pay off their balances.

The first family only had a balance of around $8.

$8!!

I think this is what made me feel all warm and fuzzy all day…..

because if someone is having a hard time just paying off $8

then this is someone who needed it the most.

We paid it off. 

The second family had a balance of around $60.

We paid it off.

For the third, fourth and fifth families…..they had a lot higher balances…so we decided to pay $25 each

towards their balance.

5 families that were blessed because we decided to pay it forward with the generosity of a few people

that didn’t even know what their money was going to do.

3 kids that had a wonderful day blessing others….

{well…the youngest wasn’t too sure about it….but i blame it on the haircut}

and one momma who wanted to show her kids that by doing selfless acts of kindness will take you further

in life than anything else ever will.

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Hanalei Don

I just got home from work…..and i realize that even though i have introduced Don on instagram…….

i have not introduced him to you through the blog……which means i might be a little behind…..

but i just poured some fine boxed wine or two……and Griswalds Christmas vacation is on the tele…..

and i feel like writing today……

so i might as well introduce you to Hanalei Don.

He even has his own hashtag on IG…..

#hanaleidon

should you be interested in knowing what a hashtag or whatsnot…is.

I mean whatnot….

cough cough….

so without further ado….i want to introduce you to Don.

At first i thought i was on to something because i would just walk around the shop

cleaning up or dusting…….maybe even folding some shirts

and Don would be over in the corner just listening.

He never feels the need to jump in and say anything which i really have come to appreciate.

He is a listener….and for that….i am grateful.

Yes….he is a mannequin.

Yes……he might have worked at Old Navy at some point in his career.

{jury is still out on that one}

Yes….he has great eyebrows.

{colored penciled brows are coming back in i hear…}

Yes……he is tall.

No….he does not have meningitis nor does he have Hepatis A.

Yes….he just happens to have a slight yellow appearance…..

but since we love all colors……..

slight yellow is beautiful.

No….he is not married….nor is he forthcoming on his relationship status.

Yes….he does like to help me behind the counter.

No…..he does not smile.

at all….

ever…..

but i am A-OK with it because i sort of love him in a non lover sort of way.

Sometimes he’s broken and in need of some tender loving care….

sometimes he just needs some support as he comes out of the closet….

{yes…i realize he might have had an arm missing…..but we are not perfect…..

and life goes on….so deal }

A few weeks ago i got a photo from a well known source that Don’s brother who lives in Vail, Colorado

had just had surgery and was recovering at a remarkable pace……

and because we could all use prayers at a time in need…..

i wanted to introduce DON’s older brother RON.

I can’t be certain to the type of surgery he had….but according to my sources….

he just had a colonoscopy.

{the face gives it away}

anyhooo……Ron made it through surgery just fine…..and he had the most wonderful staff around 

him in this crazy time…….so we are so thankful.

In the meantime……

my kids decided to come by the shop and because they are the best kids in the world………..
they comforted Don in this time of need over his brother….

and Lola held his hand 

{even though he has blue masking tape wrapped around his wrist…..but who cares ….right?!?}

it was a moment in time that we will not forget.

#hanaleidon

oh….

wait…


this is not Don….

that i know for sure. 

This is just someone who is changing her shorts in the parking lot.

I’m assuming she was either

a. wet and uncomfortable

b. hot and not wanting to wear anything

c. full from eating ice cream

d. none of the above

but since this has not one thing to do with Hanalei Don….then i’m sorry for interrupting 

because Hanalei Don has a few escorts for a party …..

and i hear that he is even going to wear his snorkel gear because he can.

He is Hanalei Don.