Hello...

Picture Perfect Hanauma Bay

Today was a busy day, much busier than I expected it to be. I spent a lot of time on the phone dealing with client issues and then this afternoon I had two new clients. SO... I was busy. I thought about staying late to finish paperwork, but decided to come on home, get a bite to eat and watch some TV and deal with my internet addiction *smiles*.

Looking forward to the weekend. I plan to get my oil changed on my car, and hopefully hit the beach if the weather is conducive. I'm also hoping to meet someone here who had posted on my blog, they are on the island from California and will be going on a cruise around the island. They board on Saturday.

Okay... time to sign off.

Aloha!
- Kris

Wednesday...

So... a rather un-eventful day. I met with a client first thing this morning (and then had a lot of paperwork to deal with afterwards), my boss gave me a new client to contact and then I met with a client that I have seen consistently for a couple years now. So... a couple things today... I have a pet peeve. (wow... I know you're surprised!). I have a problem with people who date or marry someone who is young enough to be their child (or old enough to be their parent). To me there is just something wrong with that! Another issue came up in that I had a client tell me that someone they knew, stole some prescription drugs from them. I tried to convince that person to let their doctor know, but they don't want to get the person in trouble, they just want to see that person get help. So... do I notify their doctor (within our system) that their client might be abusing drugs? Is that a violation of ethics?

Not much going on tonight... did some chores and I've been playing "Bejeweled." (what a time waster!).

My youngest daughter is supposed to fly up to Alaska tomorrow for her best friend's wedding. It is something that she has been planning for several years. I'm glad she gets to go back up there (my daughter was raised for the majority of her life, in Alaska). She was trying to get her tickets changed so she could stay longer. When she first made her reservations, she didn't think she could take any time off from work, so only planned to go for a long weekend, but now she has the opportunity to stay a little longer... hopefully she'll be able to that.

Okay... time to sign off.

Aloha! Have a great day!

- Kris

So-so day...

Today was a so-so day... I did group this morning, only had 7 clients today. That's about the right size group that I like. This afternoon I did documentation. I didn't feel very good this morning, there's something about when I eat a granola bar for breakfast.

I called and talked to my older sister today (and emailed my younger sister). Today would have been our Mom's birthday. I also got to send a couple text messages to my oldest granddaughter. I finally called her to see how her trip to Anchorage this past weekend turned out. It sounds like she had a good time.

Which reminds me... every day I check the news in Spokane (where I'm from originally) and in Alaska, where I used to live, and I also check the weather. I'm surprised at how often they are the same temperature, or when Fairbanks is warmer than Spokane. They've had some nice hot days up in Fairbanks the last week or so.

I just found out that the person that asked me about Hawaii and what to wear & do is heading down tomorrow for Hawaii. I hope they have a great time!

Okay... time to sign off. I'm watching "American Roadtrip."

Aloha!
- Kris

Attitudes

I woke up this morning and thought "It's Monday and I've got to drive into town, in rush hour traffic to the meeting, is it Friday yet?" Then I took a shower and thought about my attitude and decided to reframe my thinking and wrote this on my facebook "I realized that I should have a more positive attitude this morning. I thank God for the beautiful weekend I had, full of boogie boarding, snorkeling and motorcycle riding in Paradise. I am thankful for having a great job to go to that pays me well and that I get to work with people who truly care about others. I'm looking forward to the challenges that this new week will bring. *smiles*

See... doesn't that sound better than dreading it was Monday?

I spent the morning in meetings and this afternoon we celebrated a co-worker's birthday. I had a no-show and had to talk to a couple people in regards to clients. And... I had to prepare for my group tomorrow (which is on Feelings & communication).

After work I did some grocery shopping and then tonight I've just been home watching TV. Not too exciting (and I've been playing with my puppies).

Time to sign off...

Aloha!
- Kris

Motorcycle riding...

This was up at Dillingham field (where I went for the glider ride a couple weeks ago).

There was one more bike, for some reason, I didn't get it in either of the above pictures, it was a 3-wheeler trike (a really nice bike!).

Olomana Mountain. I've never stopped here before (the above parking lot where we stopped), but just past where we stopped... on down the road, is where I went on the Maunawili hike a few years ago.

This is a view from the He'eia State park, looking out toward the Sandbar, where I was last week and where I'll be in a couple more weeks.

So... I have had a really good weekend (other than losing my nano pod), I got to go boogie boarding, I got to snorkel at Hanauma Bay and I got to spend a day riding my motorcycle (and thinking of my friend Janis... it's her bike I ride and it's her Harley boots that I wear). Our bike ride took us a LONG way. We met for breakfast at Sizzlers, and then we rode all the way out to Dillingham Field where I did my glider rides, and we came around the back side of the field where they were sky-diving (how cool... makes me want to try that again), then we came in and headed the long way around to Haleiwa on the North Shore... wound our way around, stopping for rest breaks every now and then. We came back across the Pali, and had to stop for a few minutes and wait for the President from Taiwan, he was headed up the Pali as we were coming down. We rode around through Makiki Heights and came back down Punahou where I used to live. From there we rode on down through Waikiki on our way up to Diamond Head Look out. We stopped at Kapiolani Community College and then went to the Market City area for lunch at a Mexican restaurant. From there we headed out past Hanauma Bay, past Sandy's and Mokapu'u, through Waimanalo and we turned off near Olomana for a break. From there it was basically good-bye... as those who lived in town went back over the Pali and the rest of us came across the H-3. I think today was the first time I've ridden my bike over the H-3. One guy headed on up to Wahiawa, while the others of us headed out west, I waved good-bye to Forest and his wife and came on home. They met me at the gas station about 8:30am, and I didn't get home until about 5pm. Granted we had several 10 minutes stops along the way... but we had a FULL day of riding. I think I put 150 miles or so on my bike.

Okay... time to head to bed. Tomorrow I have to be into town early for a meeting (7:30am in town and have to deal with rush hour traffic). Hope everyone is doing okay!

Aloha!

- Kris

Snorkeling at Hanauma Bay

It was a beautiful day for snorkeling at Hanuama Bay. I got there shortly after 9am and stayed til about lunchtime then stopped at Subway for some lunch on the way back home. The water was a little murky because there is a swell on the south shore (causing waves which make bubbles in the water). The only bummer thing about snorkeling today is that I didn't see a single turtle! That's unusual. Maybe they didn't like the swells? The lifeguards repeatedly warned people about the surge and riptides that happen in the channel and said only experienced swimmers should go outside the reef (so guess who went outside the reef!.. but then I always do, and I've been out there with rougher surf). I took my underwater with me (of course!). I made sure to wear my rash guard to protect my sunburn. I don't feel like I got too much sun today. I've been home this afternoon, relaxing. I'm about ready to go take a shower and I am thinking about riding my motorcycle into town to watch the fireworks, I figured it might be easier to get a parking spot on my motorcycle.

Tomorrow morning I'm going to go ride with a group... my first "group" ride. I'm a little nervous about it, but I'm sure I'll do fine. They are meeting for breakfast in the morning, then going from there. Guess I'd best sign off.

I was able to upload this... I call it "Dancing Fish"

Aloha!

- Kris

Boogie Boarding at Bellows

Look at that water, it's beautiful, isn't it!

So... today I ended up boogie boarding. I got up this morning and headed to Hanauma Bay, but the parking lot was already full by 10am when I got there. So... I may try again tomorrow morning. During the summer you need to be there by 9am or earlier in order to get in and go snorkeling (later in the day as the parking lot empties, it opens back up, but it's anyone's guess is to what time that is).

So... passing up Hanauma Bay, I drove around towards Mokapu'u, and headed to Waimanalo and Bellow's beach. It was a BEAUTIFUL day. I hadn't planned to go boogie boarding, so I rented a board (I didn't take one of mine with me). I took my canon camera with it's waterproof case and put my waterproof headset on, with my nano tucked away inside and headed out to catch some waves (after taking the above video... sorry for the shaking movement of the camera).
As I was walking out through the waves, I went to dive under a fairly large incoming wave, and when I came up, after a minute or so, I realized I didn't have my headset on. (I don't swear much but DAMN!). That kind of ruined the rest of my fun. I hung out in the water for over an hour (wearing a long-sleeved "rash guard"), walking back and forth trying to find it. I guess I was surprised that it didn't float. I never found it and I mentioned it to another couple out there, and the guy (who is from Hawaii and in the Navy) spent about 20 minutes trying to see if he could find it (apparently they spend a lot of time at Bellows Beach)... he didn't have any luck either. When I finally came out of the water, I asked the Lifeguard if anyone had found it and turned it in (they hadn't). I sat up on shore for over an hour scanning the water's edge, hoping it would wash up on shore... with no luck. So... I'm out about $180 or so (the cost of the waterproof headset & the Nano). I'm bummed. I guess if I go snorkeling tomorrow, I'll have to do it with my Ipod. The waterproof case for the Ipod fits on an armband, so less likely to get lost. It's just bulkier to wear.

I do have to say though... today WAS beautiful. It was one of those days when I say the Hawaiian phrase "Lucky (you) I live Hawaii. I stopped at the Mokapu'u look-out as a paraglider was just taking off with a guest (tandem). I'll post a couple pictures that I took today later this week. As I was driving onto Bellows, I crossed a stream that was covered with water lilies, that's the first time I've seen water lilies blooming. So, I took a picture of them on my way out.
Tonight I've stayed home. They were shooting off fireworks at the Aloha Tower, so I just watched them from the spare bedroom window. I'd kind of like to go into Ala Moana tomorrow to watch them there, but there'll be 50,000 people there and I just don't feel like battling the traffic. So, I'm not sure what I'll do... I may just stay home tomorrow night. I'm surprised that there haven't been a bunch of fireworks being shot off in the neighborhood. Over New Year's, fireworks were non-stop for about a week! I had a panoramic view of non-stop fireworks.
Okay... time to sign off.

Aloha!
- Kris

P.S. I was trying to upload a video of kids & people boogie boarding last night, but when I went to bed, the video said it was still uploading. So, this didn't get posted last night... (sorry Bette!) It still won't let me upload the video today. Darn!

Yea! End of the work week!

I took this shot last 4th of July in Spokane. It feels like I should be there, I could be headed out to my brother's place at the lake, where some of my siblings will be. I haven't missed too many 4th of July's in Spokane in the last 10 years or so. Originally I had planned to head up to Spokane for the end of August this year, to help my younger brother celebrate his big 50, and to attend my nephew's wedding, but the wedding has been postponed for economical reasons... so I'm staying here in Hawaii this year. Hopefully next year I can go up to Spokane. My siblings & I are all getting older, so it's nice to see them while I still can, who knows if we will all be around next year, or the year after (I have six siblings). My youngest daughter & granddaughter are also up there... and I'm sure that Kiara is growing like a weed. It's hard to believe she will be in 1st grade this coming year, wow! She's such a doll.

Work went okay today... I met with a couple that are dealing with an obstinate teen (A lot of us have had to deal with those, but it sounds like this one is a little more challenging than most). It was interesting because they've lived in Alaska before, so we got to talk story a little bit too. The visit took almost 3 hours (as I saw each individually) and then I spent the afternoon typing up all the notes. We got off about an hour early. I did my good chore for the day and cleaned the refrigerator at work. Apparently someone had left a soda in a paper cup, that finally leaked through and it left a mess in the fridge. It's been there for quite awhile. We've been talking about creating a cleaning schedule for our clinic and the other one on our unit, but it hasn't been done. SO... I created a schedule as well... and sent it to my boss. He needs to talk with the people in the other clinic and hopefully we can get the ball rolling and take turns every other week cleaning it. I did it today. It's clean now.

I took Bruno for his Vet appointment, he's about 5 1/2 pounds now. He got his last Parvo shot. I thought I was going to be able to take them outside, but the Vet said I needed to wait two more weeks! (ugh!). I can't wait til I can get them outside and give them some room to run. They'll have fun together!

I'm planning to get up and go to Hanauma Bay in the morning (provided I don't stay up too late!). I talked to my friend Michelle and she said to call her in the morning, she & Kaleo might go with me. They are in the process of moving to Las Vegas (I'll have a place to stay there if I ever get back over there... although Janis' mom - Gerry, lives there and has wanted me to come visit as well). I'll miss her. She's been working on her Master's in Social Work. Since I've moved, I don't get to see her very often.

Okay... I'm going to sign off. I hope you all have a WONDERFUL 3 day weekend... and I'll be back to blog tomorrow evening.

Aloha!
- Kris