Laundry still has to be done in paradise...

Yes its true: here in paradise laundry does pile up, vacuuming has to get done, the bathroom gets dirty, dishes get left in the sink, or in the drying rack (no dishwasher here) etc. etc. etc....

Who knew? From the look of things around here earlier today you would have to assume that no one in this household understood that things don't just happen on their own, the laundry lady doesn't magically come and collect all the dirty clothes from various places such as the floor, the couch, the shelf above the closet, and sometimes even in the laundry hamper, take them away to get washed, dried, folded, and hung up or put back in the drawers. The bathroom boy doesn't secretly sneak in and clean the toilet, sink and shower. And there's no one around to clean up the kitchen or the rest of the house for that matter!

So today I decided it was about time to take care of some of these chores that haven't been done in a while, or even if they had been done recently (the kitchen) it was time yet again to be done. I've finished the laundry, which automatically cleans up the bedroom so thats nice! But every time I do the laundry I always tell myself I need to do the laundry more often so there isn't such a huge pile to do! Not having a washer and dryer in the apartment makes it a lot harder to do tons of laundry at one time... I have to carry it all the way down to the laundry room in hopes that there is a washer (or six... yes six... I had six loads of laundry to do) available. They do have a sign up saying there is a limit of six machines that can be used at one time by one person.... I always used to look at that and think that was crazy and that I could never have six loads of wash to do at one time, I mean really... two people? how could two people have that much to wash? Today I get to blame it on all the towels, and sheets I washed. We do use a TON of towels around here... from the bath towels to the beach towels to the kitchen towels to the pool... we're in the water a lot and I washed them all today (I even got that dirty towel out of the back of Tank that has been sitting there getting rained on and dried out in the sun only to get rained on and dried out in the sun over and over again for who knows how long). Along with all the towels, I washed probably 3 sets of sheets... I didn't want to sleep in all the germs on the sheets that we're on the bed this weekend while I was sick, along with those I had let the sheets pile up from when we had visitors so it was time to wash those as well. I also have a sheet covering the cushions on the couch, and a sheet that we use sometimes to redirect the wind into our apartment when it gets hot (we open the screen door put the sheet over the door so instead of the wind going right through it, the gets redirected right into our living room/kitchen... it actually works pretty well). And then there was just a normal amount of dirty clothes. Stuart was able to help bring the laundry down to the laundry room but then he was off to class... It took me 4 or 5 trips back and forth just to get the clean clothes/towels/sheets up to the apartment where I could spend the next hour or so folding them and putting them away... (sigh)


So then I cleaned up the kitchen, did the dishes, thought about cleaning the bathroom, thought about vacuuming, but wasn't sure I had the energy to go down to the TVA office check out a vacuum, lug it up the stairs, vacuum, and drag it back down.... besides, I need to rest up before going to work and then work some more....

This was not me complaining at all I promise! I'm just feeling pretty good about the fact that I got so much done. I've decided out of all the chores I could do... Laundry is my least favorite (at least for now until we have our own washer and dryer someday) I think its because I have to drag it somewhere... and its not done for another hour and a half but you cant just leave because you have to change it to the dryer in 35 minutes and then wait some more. I also get really hot when I do it partially because I have to drag it back to the apartment and also the clothes are really hot when they come out! Cleaning the kitchen is my favorite.... doing the dishes and stuff... I get to turn up the music and just wash dishes for a bit. And cleaning up the kitchen is easy.... maybe because its so small =) What are your favorite and least favorite chores to do and why? I'm intersted to find out!


I think I've had a pretty productive day and its only half over!

Hip Hip Hooray!!!!

I am now the proud card holder of a Hawaii State Public Library System Card! This afternoon I decided it was about time I make my way over to Kahuku High School and find where the joint school and public library is located. I'm slowly getting into photography more and more and thought the library would be a great source in learning what I need to know. I ventured into the library where I was happy to see that dear Auntie Susan was working today (Auntie Susan is Matt's mom... Matt is our good friend)! She was able to get me set up with my Library Card and showed me where I could look for different things. I spent some time looking through the books they have on Photography (the selection is very small) picked out a few and was on my way. Since the Kahuku Library is pretty small I cam home, flipped through one of my books and then got online to see what else I could find in all of the other State Libraries.... I've added them to my own little list and will request them in a few days so they will be sent to the library over here! I'm very excited about this! I was originally looking for "Understanding Exposure" which wasn't at Kahuku, but I found it somewhere else. I now have a list of about 40 books that I'll have to go through and see which ones I want to request first!

Ok, I said that I am slowly getting into photography but actually... we've been saving for an SLR camera for some time and will be getting it soon!!! I can hardly wait! So I'm kind of just jumping right into it and thought I should read up on some things before we get the camera!

Five

I've been tagged by Andie so here we go:

Five things on my To Do List:

• Clean our Apartment
• Look online for Camera stuff / go check out the one I found
  
• Finish application for Hale Mom&Dad (Thats the head RA in the dorms on campus here)
• Get everything together to do/get our taxes done
• My visiting teaching.... i know i know, its that last week in the month
• Go to the beach (I know thats six but its on there)

Five jobs I've held

• Server at Bubba Gump Shrimp company.... YUM!
• Lucky Brand... one time, I sold jeans to Mark Maguire
  
• Fannies Frozen Yogurt (I was in heaven there!)
• Summer Coach for CDM Girls Water Polo... they're playing in the CIF finals today!
  
• Now Coaching Kahuku Girls Water Polo... season just started over here and theyre lookin good!

Five Places I've Lived:

• Corona del Mar, CA
  
• Newport Beach, CA
• Honolulu, HI (Town)
• Albuquerque, NM (Last summer... don't miss that place)
• Laie, HI (Country)

Five things I would do if I were a BILLIONAIRE:

• Buy/build a house on the north shore... either right on the beach at Gas Chambers or up in Pupukea Hills.
• Get a passport and fill it up.... first stop: Fiji... maybe make it an endless summer surf trip.
  
• Fly our family out for a nice big visit.... and of course they would be able to stay at our new house.... a few would be able to sleep inside and others who don't fit inside would have to camp in our BIG yard under the stars, maybe we would have a rotation schedule so everyone would get to enjoy sleeping under the stars!
• Get my camera... lenses... and all sorts of photography goodies, and take the NYIP online class.
• Save for a sunny day

Five things I miss right now:

• My Health: Right now I have a nasty cold, just started last night.... Don't worry Dad, I'm sippin on that magical lemonade right now!
• My sleep.... I couldnt fall asleep last night and then when I finally did it wasn't for very long (reason: see above) then I got up to make the lemonade at 3:30 am, watched part of The Notebook while drinking previously mentioned lemonade, went back to bed where stuart tried to read me to sleep again (that usually works like a charm but didnt last night, either time) drifted in and out of a fitful sleep until about 9 am when Stuart left for a service project then I finally fell asleep... until the phone rang in my ear at 10:15... sigh yes I definitely miss my sleep right now.
• My family... we should really have a combined Tarayao/Johnson family fun trip in hawaii... what do you guys think?
  
• Dad's yummy yummy food
• Being in REALLY good shape... but I can work on that.

Five things most people don't know about me:

• When I was little, I wanted to BE Shamu when I grew up.... how does that work??? Looking back I translate that to being more like I wanted to work with whales and dolphins... what do you think? was something wrong with me?
• I like to sew... but I have to create, I CANNOT follow a pattern to save my life... ok thats not true, sometimes I can follow patterns but they just really really frustrate me.
• I cannot swallow pills with just water... I have to chew up some food like a cracker or bread and through them into my mouth just before I swallow the food. If anyone else has that problem or have children with that problem... try that... it works like a charm.
  
• Since being married over a year and a half ago I can count on my hands how many times I've worn make up.
• I have a passion for photography and eventually want to make it my profession... so look for it in the future!
  

Five things I Love:

• Stuart
• Photography
• Surfing
• Family
• Food
• Ice cream
• Sleeping
• Sunny Days
• Cool Nights
• Hot apple cider
• The movie Elf
• British Bulldogs
• Baby Hippos
• Piggies
• Massages
• comments on my blog
• A good love story (I've been reading this one... its great!)
• Sushi
• Memory Foam
• Stars
• Shooting Stars
• Rainbows
• Tropical Flowers
• Being Married to my Best Friend!
  

oops.... did I say 5? oh well.

I tag Mahina!

AND WE'RE BACK!

I'm happy to say that didnt take long! Thank you all for being concerned with the blocking blogspot situation! I think its all under control and hopefully we'll be able to continue to be able to post and comment and post some more! Missed you all terribly.... even though that was a shorter time between posts than I've had in the past where there was no block.... funny how that works huh? Well I will return soon!

A comment or two for mahina...

since I'm not able to comment on your post here are somethings I wanted to say....

Those pictures of the girls are soooo adorable! I can hardly stand it! It looks like you all had a wonderful day at the park! I'm happy to hear it was nice and clear for you guys!

Second.... I love the counters that you put on the side!!! Where can I get them?!? I don't know that i'll be running enough miles to even count but maybe the swimming one I can do since im in the water a lot more these days. Anyways.... Hope all is well, and I hope to be back to regular blogging soon!!! Love you!

So sad....

Well... unfortunately BYU has put some sort of restriction on blogspot.... I amonly able to post because I found a round about way to get in however... I am unable to view any comments that any of you post. Unfortunately, I am also unable to make any comments on your blogs! I can't tell you how frustrating it is!!! Any and all blogspots I tried to view today were not loading... there was no explanation so I assumed that they were doing some sort of maintenance on the whole website. After playing intramural volleyball tonight we stopped in at the good old TVA office where we ran into a fellow blogger who mentioned the block BYU has put on Blogspot. We had no idea until now that it wasn't just a temporary website maintenance thing. I just wanted to let all of you know whats going on in case you missed us here! Don't worry, we are still alive and well... (as well as one can be without blogging that is.) I miss you terribly even though its only been 10 minutes since we hear the news! We're working on getting the block undone so hopefully we'll be back soon!

I'm a workin girl now...

I've started working again! I have 2 part time jobs and I am enjoying both of them! I'm the Assistant Coach for the Kahuku High School Girls water polo team. My old teammate/roommate is the Head coach and asked if I would help out so Monday-Friday i'm at the pool for a couple hours in the late afternoon. Sometimes I even get to get in the water with the girls so thats always fun! Looks like a pretty good group of girls and i'll try and keep you updated on how they do this season!

I'm also working at Ohana Video. This is the video store in the Laie Shopping Center where they have edited versions of all sorts of movies! Its like clean flicks if you ever heard about that. Its a pretty mellow job, close enough so I can walk, and the owners are super nice and willing to work with my other work schedule. I also get to watch movies while I'm working so maybe I'll start doing some movie reviews! If you have any suggestions of movies to watch let me know and maybe I can see it next time i'm at work!

Happy Presidents day!

I hope that everyone was able to enjoy their day off! Hopefully you had the day off. Happy Presidents Day! Its been a beautiful day here in Hawaii, the sun was out the clouds and rain were no where to be found this morning, and there was no wind! Perfect for surfing!

Stuart got up early this morning in search of some bigger waves than I would care to surf so I got to sleep in, and wait for a couple of my old roomies to come up from town. We jumped in the water and surfed a couple hours. The waves were small, the crowd was mellow, and the ocean was BEAUTIFUL!!!! I love it here!

Its starting to get warmer, the sun is coming out, the clouds are keeping their distance and the rain isn't visiting us everyday. Its beginning to feel more like spring for us, I guess we should enjoy the cool weather while it lasts cuz its gonna get HOT!

Happy Birth/Valentines day Malia...

Happy valentines day and
Happy Birthday Malia!!!!!!
its was a magical 5 days while Malia And I we're both 24 but just like surfing a good wave, there comes a time when the fun must subside...I guess now we have to go back to a life where I am always a year younger... anyways...


heres a list of 25 things I love about my wife...
...Cuz she's 25



1-shes way super creative, she made a calender for my birthday while we were dating and it was so amazing that I knew at that point that she was a super keeper.
2-amazing cook...she can do many wonderful dishes but she just mastered Pancit, a dish that her dad taught her. sooo yummy
3-shes a great singer
4-she likes "guy' movies along with chick flicks
5-she gives everything cool names....ex, our trucks name is tank, all the gecko's in our apartment we call Pacheco.( she doesn't name the cockroaches, no need to personify something your gonna smash)
6-shes my surfing buddy. other married guys here don't have very understanding wives when it comes to dropping everything to catch the latest unexpected swell. The only way I would be in the dog house for surfing is if I didn't take Malia with me. she loves it.
7-shes an amazing photographer-with our underwater camera she is fearless!!! shell swim out to deep ocean or into pounding surf just to get some good shots of our friends and I.
8-she has cool style. she can wear a guys shirt and my big basketball shorts and look really good. she looks like a gangster in those shorts, its funny.
9-she has the most beautiful hair!!!! I remember in our dating days when we would hang out after surfing and watch how after roughing her hair up in a towel to dry she would just let it go...once its was dry it was as if it was ready for her wedding day...I was ready at least...
10-she does handstands super pretty cuz she was a state champ gymnast when she was 11...
11-her smile...Have you ever seen her smile? beautiful
12-we bought tickets to the kokua festival. I love that. I love that she loves that.
13-her favorite number is 13. that translates to fearless...so hot
14-shes good friends with my best guy friend Matt Ortiz and we can all hang together. (Matt is a super talented artist check out his stuff at myspace.com, search waipolo@yahoo.com. he's gonna be famous some day.
15-she likes silly humor like flight of the concords and the office.
16-she has great relationships with all her brothers and sister, and her mom and dad.
17-she loves our little black truck that never needs a exterior wash.
18-I love how she cant go to sleep with out me reading her to sleep that way we read a lot more than we ever would!!!
19-I love that she wants to stay in the islands forever. so do I.
20-I love that she played waterpolo all the way through college. I played too and I think the average girl thinks waterpolo is a bit queer. I'm so lucky she understands the game that I love. starting last Monday she is coaching the Kahuku High school girls waterpolo team. Go Red Raiders.
21-she doesn't flip out about stuff. for example, we lost thousands of dollars when the company we worked for this summer went bankrupt before paying us. From day one of the news that we were not getting paid she was optimistic. our life is good. minus a little cash, our life is still really good
22-she is the sweetest person i know.
23-she takes care of organizing money stuff.
24-shes super thrifty and never surprises me with big purchases
25-I love that she loves me back.

Happy Birthday Stuart

24 years ago today, Stuart was born into the Johnson Family of Whittier California. He was welcomed into the world by loving parents Kim and Rhonda, sisters Michal and Alli, and the tough lovin of brothers Martin Tyler and Evan. I am so grateful for all of the great influences in Stuarts life that molded him into my one true love!

24 Things I Love about Stuart

• His love of life
• He is so musically talented
• He is an amazing teacher
• His love for island people and culture
• His crystal blue eyes
• He reads me to sleep
• He loves the ocean
• We get to surf together
• He makes delicious pizzas
  
• We get to play volleyball together
• He is very supportive
  
• We get to play water polo together
• He is silly
  
• We get to be the same age for 5 days every year
  
• We can be kids together
• He would rather me be out surfing with him than at home with dinner ready and waiting when he gets home
  
• He comes home from work or school and tells me he missed me
• He loves the gospel
• He humors me and says someday I can have a pet piggy
• He's serious and says someday we can have a puppy
  
• He loves his family
• His sense of fashion... its very simple
• He's okay with the fact that his wife isn't the best at cleaning, doing dishes, or doing the laundry
• He is my Best Friend

Happy 24th Birthday Stuart!

I Love you!!!

Big Brothers and Sisters!

BBS is a program that organizes and sets up visiting Japanese students with University or University aged people to be their chaperon/tour guide for the day. My first day of doing this was on Tuesday and I had a blast! These are High Schools that take trips over to Hawaii where they are able to use their english skills in everyday circumstances. They are able to order food, make purchases at stores, and ride the bus... riding the bus I think they probably need help with that and dont do that on their own. Its a pretty sweet deal... they have a school trip and its mostly shopping that they do... I have shopped more in the past 3 days than in the past year it seems like! (I wasn't spending.... just along for the ride) Tuesday was my first day and i'll admit, I was a bit nervous since I'd never done it before... that didnt last very long, we had a blast! we went into waikiki had lunch (wehere we were able to sit down and talk story) and walked around going into the shops. we also got to go to the aquarium! These girls were so sweet and i'm glad they were my first group! Arent they cute!!!


Here are some of the pretty fish we saw!


The shark! Cool huh? Looks fierce... but this is cool because even though it looks scary, this is one that is often seen but they dont bother people... and by bother I mean bite (being bit by a shark would be such a bother dont you think?)



Today was a little different, it was broken into 2 parts so I had 2 different groups and they were boys! I didnt know how that would go but they were so much fun! And so polite and respectful and helpful with one another! Here we are in waikiki where we were shopping before going to the aquarium (again for me=) and lunch!



After a short break, I picked up another group of boys from the same school, our itinerary included more shopping (of course) and a visit to aloha towers! We took the bus from Waikiki into downtown honolulu and went over to Aloha Towers where there was guess what??? More Shopping! and we went to the top of the tower and were able to look out over downtown and into waikiki, we were also able to see the airport and the general area of Pearl Harbor. Fortunately for us, the rain had cleared for a bit and it was beautiful when we were up at the top!


It was a very long day for everyone so we headed back into Waikiki with an hour left before needing to get back to their hotel, I offered that we could go sit on the beach and relax and play games which I was looking forward to and they seemed to like the idea as well.... On the bus ride back, a few of the boys took the opportunity to catch a few zzzzz's I guess that gave them the energy they needed for one more round of shopping so we continued to walk the strip one more time. Needless to say I am tired! But it was well worth it! I had a great time and so did the boys! This is a fun little part time job that I'm grateful I had the opportunity to do!

Not only that, but on the walk back to Tank, me and the girls I was driving home were able to stop and enjoy this:

I love my home!







ps.... i'm back! I finished my project, i'll post about it later, hopefully tomorrow! Thanks for bearing with me!