careful who you ask to take your photo

May 4, 2012

I have a new friend that moved here not too long ago…her name is Jaime.…and she was a blog reader

who reached out to me when she and her family decided to uproot themselves to Kauai.

I love when people do things like that.

 try something different.

They found a place on the South side of the island….and so it’s hard getting together because

it’s a good hour and a half for either of us. This week one of Jamie’s friends was in town visiting….

who’s also a blog reader of mine….so we all decided to meet up for lunch.

We met at The Garden Cafe….at Common Ground. It’s in Kilauea….and if you follow me on Instagram…

you know that i eat here at least every other week.

They have the Kalua pork nachos.

{no words needed}

I’ll be doing a whole post on this place soon….i promise.

Pinky.

Anyhoo…..we were sitting there and i turned around to a group of girls…

high-schoolers i’m sure….

and i asked one of them to take our photo with my phone.

This is the first photo:


She took it and then said she should probably get on the other side of the table because

the photo just didn’t come out very well.

I thought…..good call….she’s probably a budding photographer….

and she knows all about catching the “right” angles.

I almost….and i mean ALMOST….

gave her the “two fingers up” i’ve read the Hunger Games sign…..

but i wasn’t having any wine with my lunch….because they don’t serve wine with lunch….

and because i didn’t have any wine…..i’m kind of glad i didn’t give her the “sign”.

This is the second photo she took:

and before i knew it she took another photo

{still thinking she was a budding photographer while she continued to manipulate my iphone}



So…….

the moral of the story is….

don’t ask girls who look like they should be in school at noon on a Friday but are not……

to take your photo.

The end.

Tagged Kauai, life, style Filed Under life 26 Comments

the surf competition

May 3, 2012

First and foremost….THANK YOU so much for all the comments on my getting fit photos.

Nothing makes a girl feel better then logging on in the mornings and reading all your sweet comments…..

and i just want to let those of you that were in my same shoes….that you can do it….

it takes time. Lots of time.

And commitment. 

You have to want it…..and work hard….and i promise….you too will see results.

If you are not cutting calories and burning them by exercising……you won’t lose weight.

If you are not using weights….you won’t tone.

I even woke up the other morning from a comment from Bryan….

all the way from Florida….and it made my day.

Anyhoo……this last Saturday was the Irons brothers surf contest.

My kids were up and ready by 6 am Saturday morning…..and let me tell you….it was a long day.

Mason’s bestie was in the first heat of the morning…..at 7 AM sharp.

C.J….the bestie is exactly one year older then Mason and they share the same birthday which is pretty cool…

and they are both at the exact same level at surfing.

I was happy that they were not in the same heat….i didn’t want them competing against each other.

C.J placed third in the first heat which meant he got to move on to the 2nd heat.

I didn’t know how the competitions work…

so i had to keep asking bryan to detail it out for me.

The kids in this one were placed in age groups……so Mason and his friend were in the 11-12 year boys group.

There were 4 heats that went out first thing in the morning and 6 boys in each heat…..and each heat

lasts 15 minutes.

That means there were 30 boys competing at first.

Then the top 3 in each of the first heats move on to the 2nd heat.

Then the top four from the 2nd heats move on to the final heat and in the Final heat there are 6 boys {or girls}

left to compete with the big awards going obviously to the First place through 3rd place.

So when you think about it…..there were a few different age groups going on that day.

Boys 11-12

Boys 9-10

Girls 11-12

Girls 9-10

Boys 8 and under

Girls 8 and under.

Lots of heats and long day.

I’m already tired from reading this and writing it all out again.

I don’t know how parents do this with kids that are on the surfing circuit….GOOD LORD ABOVE.

Lola did not surf…but her friends did…..

and her friend Khalil…pictured on the right in the photo below….made it to the finals and placed 6th.

It was her first competition also…..she rocked even though she was 6 minutes late in starting

the final heat because her little sister decided to take her surfboard out without asking.

It also rained on and off throughout the day…..

but that didn’t stop Fin from being Fin.


Mason in his first heat……

and let me tell you how absolutely PROUD we were of him…..

his very first competition…. he was nervous….

and in his first heat there was a kid from his class that surfs A LOT and is on a surf team.

But guess what?!

Mason placed third in the first heat and moved on to the 2nd heat.

There were so many people there……supporting our local kids…..it was fabulous.


It doesn’t take Fin long to find friends and keep busy all day long….

Fin’s heat finally came at 1….and with the 8 and under….it’s all parent push in.

That means a parent goes out and helps then catch waves.

Fin went out with his friend Anya.

Fin also had a substitute dad for the push in…..only because

1. i needed to take photos

and

2. bryan had to head to work

Anya got first place for the girls…..

and Fin took first place for the boys.

Justin also took first place for the boys…..

so did little Mason….

and Julian also came in first place.

It was really great that all the 8 and under got first place…..and a trophy.

There were 200 8 and under signed up for the contest…..

and even though i didn’t tell Fin till after his heat that there really was no competition….

they all got really great goody bags that had sunglasses, hats….stickers…wax and cool things.

Mason’s 2nd heat came around 1:45 in the afternoon…..and right after his Friend.

Once again…they were not competing in the same heat.

The friend placed 5th…which meant he couldn’t move on to the final heat.

This is Mason about to head out in his 2nd heat…..

they all wear different colored rash guards so the judges can tell who is who.


Mason did amazing in that heat….but came in 5th…which meant he didn’t get to move on the finals….

but it didn’t bother him at all.

He was so Happy to have been able to make it through the first heat and have the chance to even do a 2nd one…

and that makes this momma so proud.

He also still loves his longish hair and won’t cut it.

He also thinks he might want to live here one more year.

Go figure.

And that my friends….is what a first ever surf competition looks like.

Tagged family, Kauai, life Filed Under life 20 Comments

so i bought some shorty shorts today

April 30, 2012

So….i thought i might warn you that this post is full of fat photos and dimples……

and some cute shorts and a cute bikini.

Today i went and bought my first pair of shorty shorts.

I’m not and never have been a shorty shorts wearer…..because well….

 {some of us over the age of 26…just shouldn’t be wearing them}

but today i felt differently.

I guess it’s because i’ve finally met my goal which was to have lost 25 pounds in 6 months…

tone up

lean up

 be normal up

still drink vodka and freshly squeezed grapefruit juice up

eat lots of quinoa 

buy a juicer

cut back on cheese

still eat cheese because you won’t change what you love

and after all of that and then some

 i decided i’m going to go out and buys some of those damn shorty shorts.

I didn’t even tell Bryan.

{good thing he’s out of town at the moment…}

sheet

If you are new to my blog….i’m sorry about the fat photos you are about to see.

If you are a long time reader {i won’t quit you}………

i’m sorry about some of the phat  fat photos you are about to see.

But first…i will show you a thinner photo of me in some shorty shorts

and my new hat….and non pedicured toes.

Good thing i’m not up for an award.

This is the part i warned you about.

I’m about to show you {again} the before photo…

shoot me now because i want to lay down and die a slow death

but it’s real….and i’m real…..and well…..i was 162 pounds back on November 1st.

You wouldn’t have known what i looked like because i was always in skirts and rarely got any photos

of me waste down…..but when we had our family photos done on Thanksgiving…..

even though i was 3 weeks into Gabby’s class and working on my goal….

i still felt like SHEET and hated the way i looked.

It doesn’t help that i looked pregnant

or that i weighed more than my 2 inches taller husband.

Enough was enough.

I was heavier than i was in the delivery room birthing babies

with my narcotic of choice dripping in my arm…..uh huh…

and i realize it was a whole lot of things that had happened to make me want to just

keep on eating and not really put my heart into losing the weight i was slowly gaining.

It didn’t help that before we moved to Hawaii…..we ate pizza every Tuesday night 

while watching Biggest Loser.

It didn’t help that Bryan lost his job.

It didn’t help that i loved layers and was able to hide any weight gain.

What did help was moving to a place where everyone is wearing shorty shorts and bikinis year round.

{and the only moms in tankini’s are the tourists….honest to goodness….even the heavier set moms 

that live here will wear a bikini}

What did help was that everyone i know here is extremely active and health conscious.

The island is all about eating local and supporting the farmers markets.

It helped me tremendously…because if i’m going to be honest…if i was still home in the burbs of

chicago…i might not have made it as heavy as i had gotten….but i wouldn’t have had the motivation

that the warm weather and beach living has done for me.

I only state this because i was still going to the gym up until the day we moved….

and you don’t see a whole lot of moms in bikini’s at the local pool back home.

It’s different.

I’m not putting it down…don’t get me wrong…..it’s just different.

I needed the change to help me change.

I guess i just wanted to wear a bikini and OWN it….and work really hard so that i could say i did it.

You know the saying….”nothing tastes as good as skinny feels”….

i actually hate that saying. 

DESPISE IT

because i don’t just want to be skinny 

i want to be fit

i want to be healthy

i want to look healthy

i want to be able to run 4 miles without feeling like i am going to die a slow death

i want hike  and paddleboard.

I want my arms to look great and my thighs to not start a fire when rubbed together.

I want my family to be proud.

I want to keep up with my kids .

I want to kick ASSphalt.

I’ve made my goal.

6 months.

25 pounds lost.

I can run 5 miles. {barely….let’s not get ahead of myself…}

{and no…i have no intention of doing any half marathons….no need to kill myself}

I worked out with Gabby Reece.

I worked out with Bethany Hamilton.

I still eat things i want to eat….like brie and goat cheese and cheeseburgers….

as a matter of fact….last weekend a friend and i met up for breakfast and split a huge

macadamia nut cinny roll and a cheese omelette.

I just work harder when i do.

I also juice.

{spinach or kale, celery, cucumber, green apple, ginger and carrots every single day}

I refused to cut out alcohol.

I don’t want to change who i am and seriously….if i did…i’m sure the weight would have come off

so much faster but i’m good with 25 pounds in 6 months.

I don’t eat before i run in the morning…..and i juice as soon as i get home.

It’s what works for  me….and i eat eggs or oatmeal mid morning.

I really try and do 4-5 small meals throughout the day and i really try not to eat after 7 pm.

It doesn’t always happen….and it’s okay.

I still order Kalua pork nachos at the Common Ground every other week…..

because i love them and i like food.

I just work a little harder that morning so i can.

 I’m not going to lie….

i’m worried that now with no more Gabby classes that i will fail….

slowly fall back into my old habits.

Most of the other girls in class will move on to Crossfit classes or do more yoga…

but for me the fact that Gabby’s classes were Free…..helped me more than you know.

The closest gym is 30 minutes away….and the cost of gas is ridiculous here…..

and my hubby waits tables.

It’s the life we knew we had to accustom ourselves to for the year….

living lean…

but loving it all the way.

I might have to buy some weights…..and run stairs an extra day…..

do some planks and pushups in my living room while watching Kathy Lee and Hoda drink 

fine boxed wine

but i will try.

Anthropologie catalog honor!


I’m still going to work hard…..eat less….and love this new body i have.

I did it…..

and hopefully i’m not quite done yet;-)

Tagged getting fit, life, style Filed Under life, style 89 Comments
« Older Posts