Day 7 - Nervous Nelly

Day 7, but really more like Day 5 because of the mess-ups on the real Days 5 & 6.  But who's counting?

I wake up feeling anxious.  I didn't sleep great, and I've just got a lot of anxiety going on with work stuff this week.  We're also out of coffee, and that isn't helping.  I scarf down a piece of frittata for breakfast, and anxiously, I'm off to face the world.

It is a crazy whirlwind sort of day, but I am amazingly productive.  The anxiety seems to fade away, and I honestly can't believe how much I get done.  I am a bit snacky though.  I eat a mini-bag of Popchips around noon, and for lunch I have vegan split pea soup and some leftover popcorn with truffle salt.  Later in the afternoon, I have a mini-Lara Bar and some sunflower seeds.  I don't normally snack this much at work. 

I'm on a later shift so I get home later than normal, but I still have a ton of energy.  Feeling good, I BBQ some chicken with Oregon Dan's BBQ sauce accompanied by corn on the cob and asapargus.  Awesome, summery feeling meal.  I force myself to go to bed because I've got a super early day tomorrow, but this was the most energy I'd had in awhile.  And this morning's anxiety is gone. 

Day 4 - Naming Names

Once again, I was starving last night.  I seem to be satisfied all day, but later in the evening, I'm all snacky and looking for something to munch on.  I wonder if this is just habit, something I do while watching TV or having a cocktail.  Could it be that my body has just come to expect late night snacking?  Definitely something to think about.

I had an appointment this morning, so I had to wolf down a few strawberries and blueberries for breakfast.  Not a good start to the day.  Looking back, I probably should have taken advantage of that Banana Luna Bar.  Still, energy levels are still good, mood is upbeat - although that may just be because I'm not working today.

I did a little gluten-free, dairy-free shopping this morning so hopefully I will have some more options when it comes to meals.  Some fun special diet items I picked up include Amy's canned soups (Split Pea & Chili), Oregon Dan's BBQ sauce, AJ's Walla Walla Sweet Onion Mustard with Garlic, Udi's Whole Grain Bread and Flamous Organic Falafel Chips.  I haven't much of it, but you know I ripped that bag of chips open as soon as I got in the care.  Very pleasantly surprised.  I got the Spicy flavor, and they're really flavorful - not to mention the fact that they have NO wheat, dairy, lactose, trans fat, cholestoral, msg, hydrogenated oil, GMOs, preservatives, artificial colors or flavors.  WOW.  When I got home, I dipped them in the mustards, and they were even better.  And I'm sure they're perfect for hummus.

For brunch, I made a spanish tortilla - basically a frittata.  It has red pepper, onion, yukon gold potatoes, parsley, and eggs.  So, so yummy!  Thanks, Martha Stewart!

Stay tuned for more special diet updates. 

Day 3 part 2

I almost forgot to mention my new favorite gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free snack - Luna Bars!  I tried the Cherry Pie flavor today, and seriously, so good.  They have 3 ingredients:  cherries, dates, almonds.  That's it.  No wonder they are so good. 

They are right around 200-250 calories for anyone who cares about such things.

Tomorrow's flavor:  Banana Bread.  I'll let you know. 

Days 2 & 3

I made it through Day 1 - barely.

Later in the evening, I felt hungry.  This was a time that I would normally have a slice of cheese or a piece of bread, and both are now on the No list.  I tried a few berries, some walnuts, nothing really satisfied.  So I went to bed.

But these are new days. 

Days 2&3: Feeling very energetic and definitely not as irritable as usual.  Breakfast both days was steel cut oats with berries.  Lunch on Day 2 was raw kale with tahini plus aztec salad from Whole Foods.  Lunch on Day 3 was a big ol' salad with turkey and tons of veggies.  Feeling good, no hunger, no headaches.  I don't seem to want to snack as much as I usually do. 

Dinner on Day 2 was tough.  We went to a BBQ, and there were tons of things that I definitely wanted to eat.  Instead, I had 2 chicken wings with a spice rub, 2 raw oysters, plus green beans, suger snap peas and a few corn chips with salsa.  Oh, and I cheated a bit with some 8 layer Mexican dip.  A teeny bit of dairy, but not a ton.  And I managed to steer clear of the beer.  I went to bed feeling satisfied, if a little bit drunk.

Woke up on Day 3 with a bit of a tummy ache - although I attribute this the several glasses of wine I had the night before.  Oats for breakfast took care of this. 

Again, less irritation than normal, and I had a super productive day. 
This was definitely a more stressful day than normal, but I felt like I held up a little bit better than usual.  Feeling good.

After work meeting & then happy hour with the girls.  Ouch - super tough cause we went to a pizza place.  Nothing for me to eat here.  The girls ate 2 yummy pizzas, and I had to use all of my self control to say no.  But I did it. 

At home, eating split pea soup and some dolmades.  Feeling pretty good.  My skin seems to be getting clearer and brighter, although maybe that's just wishful thinking.  So far, pretty happy with the wheat-free, dairy-free life.  It's hard though, right?  Always having to ask:  "What's in this?  Is this gluten-free?  What are the ingredients?" 

Yeah, I'm totally one of *those* people now. 

Not-Quite-Top-Chef

So shocker - I've been doing some experimental cooking lately.  Those of you that know me well know that I am not much of a chef.  I can cook all right.  Although I didn't really learn until after I was married (the first time).  It's true.  Coli taught me a few things in college - you know, the necessities like chicken on the George Foremen, nachos, and tuna baked potatoes.  Cara was my scrambled eggs educator in NZ.  (Seriously, I didn't know how to make scrambled eggs until I was 24 years old.)  But when I moved in with Matt, he did all of the cooking.  But when we moved back to the US, my domestic side (sort of) came out.  I became interested in learning how to cook, and I bought myself some cookbooks and tried out a few things.  I was actually okay.  Not a great cook, but not bad either.  I'm pretty good at following directions.  I very rarely stray from recipes though, and I would not call myself inventive.  Definitely not experimental. 

But now that has all changed.  Sort of. 

I made a white bean chicken soup, egg white salad, and chicken salad last week.  All without recipes.  And all with considerable success. 

The soup was chicken broth, tomato basil pasta sauce, white beans, chopped roasted chicken, and spinach.  I also used a decent amount of crushed red pepper.  I added fresh basil and parmasean when serving.  Tim told me it was the best soup I've ever made.  (I am both flattered and irritated by this statement as many other soups I've made required much more blood, sweat and tears.)

The egg white salad consisted of egg whites (duh), celery, red pepper, red onion, mayo, mustard, and dill.  I am obsessed with TJ's egg white salad, but at $3.99 for a teeny tub, I have been forced to take matters into my own hand.  Hizzah - great results!  I recommend tucking it into a toasted wheat pita with a little Baconaisse.

Finally, I created a little combo with the leftover ingredients from the soup and the egg white salad.  Combine the leftover chopped roasted chicken with celery, red onion, a little mayo, and the secred ingredient, PESTO.  Presto - a fabulous chicken salad. 

Yes, I realize that none of these recipes were that creative or that different or that amazing.  But still.  For me, it was a big day.

Kauai - Day 9 - Lazy Sunday

You will never believe what we have planned for today.  No. 

Nothing.  We have absolutely nothing planned today.  We can't wait.

We wake up early anyway though, and with the time difference, the Pats game starts at 8am.  This was quite the depressing way to start the day.  (WTF, Tom Brady?!)  It actually forced us to begin drinking much earlier than normal.  No matter because we are in Kauai, in our open-air cottage, lounging in bed while watching Sunday football and drinking beer.  We can hear birds and the wind, and we can smell the jungle and the ocean.  Lazy Sunday = Bliss.

After a few hours of this, hunger begins to set in.  We have a plan to cruise down to the Marriott in Lihue because they are supposed to have an amazing Sunday brunch complete with champagne. All you-can-drink champagne and a huge seafood selection?  Yeah, that sounds like us.  Imagine our sadness when we arrived and we are told that they are no longer hosting this brunch in the "off-season".  Apparently we smart and thrifty travellers are not good enough for their champagne and sushi.  Screw 'em.

So.  What now?  We were planning on doing a little snorkeling in Poipu after brunch (unless we overdid it on the bubbles), so we decide to head down that way.  Surely there must be a good food option around there.  Well, there's actually not that much. We end up at a place called Keoki's Paradise in the Poipu Shopping Village.  We sat in the bar (much cheaper than the restaurant), and it was actually pretty good.  Mahi mahi sammie for me, kalua pulled pork for Tim.  MAI TAIS all around!  It was sort of touristy-cheesy, but the food made up for it.  And so did the amount of rum in the maitais.

We did end up doing some snorkeling off of Poipu Beach afterwards.  If you ever go snorkeling here, make sure you enter the water on the right (facing the ocean) side of the beach.  If you go in on the left (as we attempted to do), you'll find out quickly that the reef is right there.  And then when you fall trying to put your flippers on, you'll cut your hands and it hurts.  Don't make our mistake.  The right side is super sandy and lovely, and you can swim over to the reef area later.  The snorkeling is okay here.  I would love to see what Kauai snorkeling is like in the summertime. We saw some cool fish, and the reef is interesting, but nothing spectacular.  After snorkeling, we attempted to "beach" for awhile. 

Sadly, Tim and I have realized we are not good at doing nothing. 

After about 10 minutes on the beach, we decide to pack it up and head back to the East shore.  Hey, it's 230p - almost Happy Hour!  With no plans, it seems like a good day to drink around the island.  And drink we did.

We started at the Pool Bar at the Islander on the Beach resort at Coconut Plantation.  This is definitely a local bar - the Islander is a timeshare, and the bartender had been there for 16 years.  Everyone sitting at the bar knew everyone else, and it was a real friendly "Norm!" kind of place.  Their happies are from 4p-6p, and they have a drink called Kamanawannalaya.  Heeheehee.  Kamanawannalaya!  That's funny.  And the drinks are hella strong.  And so it begins. 

After the Pool Bar, we walk back over to Hukilau Lanai.  We had a couple more drinks and also tried their ahi nachos . This is raw ahi on top of crispy wontons topped with a wasabi cream sauce.  Holy Hell - these were freaking incredible.  Tim also really liked this place 'cause the bartender commented on his Ween t-shirt.  This could be the reason why our drinks knocked our socks off. 

We then went over to Trees, and we already know that their happies go til 7p.  And then it was 7p, and we had basically been drinking all day long.  We were tipsy, sunburned, happy, and in love.  What could make this day better?

Yeah, pizza.  Back to Brick Oven for some carryout, and the day is wrapping up.  While waiting for the pizza, we drunkenly decided that we should hike the Inca Trail for our honeymoon.  Hell yeah.  More hiking.  Oh damn.

Day 8 - Kauai - Happy Hikers

Are you serious?!  We're doing another hike today?  What's wrong with us - we're on vacation already!

Yes, we're up early again today because we're heading back to the West Shore for a hike in Koke'e State Park.  Originally, we planned on doing the Nu'aolo Loop Trail.  Including the walk back to the car, this loop trail would be about 11 miles.  However, upon further research, we realized that this loop trail includes a portion called the Nu'aolo Cliff Trail, and this cliff trail is literally on the edge of a cliff.  It's very, very narrow, and if you fell, you would tumble about 2,000 feet.  Hmm.  Sounds a bit sketchy, eh?  Here are the two photos that convinced me that not only is this portion of the hike sketchy, it is NOT FOR ME.

I do not do well with cliffs.  And thus, our 11 mile hike became a 7 mile hike.  We decided to just do the return portion of the loop - the Awa'awapuhi Trail.  Now, don't start thinking just because this trail is shorter that we got off easy.  The trail starts at 4,120 feet, and it ends at 2,500 feet.  And what did I say on the Kalalau Trail?! 

What goes down must go up.

But seriously, this trail is awesome.  LOVED it.  Really nice landscape, and you are rewarded with some gorgeous views at the end. 

This is definitely a trail you would want to avoid if it's been raining in Koke'e though - it would be really muddy and treacherous.  Also, it quite a bit chillier at this elevation than in other parts of Kauai.  I wore long pants and hiking boots, and I actually started out with a hoodie.  By the time we were huffing and puffing on the return, the hoodie was history, but I was happy I had it in the beginning.  We started the hike around 10am, and this was perfect.  We were done by 2p-ish, and we had time to explore Waimea Canyon on the way back.  We brought sammies and ate lunch at the lookout.  Unfortunately, as I was eating lunch, I looked down and a mouse was drinking the condensation off my water bottle.  Another sad rodent surprise.

Side note:  I forgot to mention this in the Kalalau post, but on the last leg of that hike, I was walking up ahead of Tim, and what do I see on the trail?  Yes, a rat.  A rat.  But I was so effing tired, I COULDN'T EVEN SCREAM. 

Me:  "aah. a rat."

Tim:  "What?  A rat? Hahahahaha!  You can't even scream!  You must not be afraid of them anymore!"

Rat:  "Well, I'm sure as hell not afraid of her.  She can't even walk, let alone hurt me.  I think I will instead lay down in the middle of the path and force her to walk around me."

Back on the Awa'awapuhi Trail, we're enjoying the beautiful views and beautiful day and all together beautiful hike.  Fed?  Yes.  Rested?  Yes.  Well, get your boots on cause it's time to pay the piper. 

And up, up, up we go! 

Let me tell you guys, Tim is amazing at "up".  He can power up a hill or a mountain.  He's barely sweating, barely puffing.  And I am pretty sure I am going to pass out.  But I made it.  Yeah, I'm totally a hiker now.  It's pretty cool.

After our hike, we stopped at several viewpoints of Waimea Canyon.  Seriously, gorgeous.  If we come back here, I'd love to check out some more hikes in this area. 

Afterwards, we headed out to Waimea Brewing Company - obviously it's time for a beer!  It's located on the Waimea Plantation grounds which are so beautiful.  They have all sorts of different and unique cottages to stay in, beautiful beach views.  We saw a wedding going on - if we could afford it, I would love to get married here.  Sigh.  Okay, moving on.  The beer was okay, nothing spectacular, but not bad either.  We also had some Kalua pork nachos, and those were definitely spectacular.  Loved this spot for a post-hike nosh. 

After relaxing for a bit, we're heading back to Kapa'a.  Even though we've had our afternoon snack, you know we're going to need more to eat tonight!  We have been wanting to try a restaurant really close to our place called Caffe Coco.  You can sort of see it from the road, and it looked adorable.  We were definitely not disappointed.  Basically, you enter the restaurant and order from the counter.  Oh, and it's BYOB, so make sure you bring a bottle of wine along with you.  After ordering, you basically head out to the backyard, and you pick your table.  It's almost like having dinner a friends house.  You're outdoors, and there are Christmas lights strung up, and citonella candles everywhere.  A cute hippie band was playing Cat Stevens and the Beatles.  The food was fabulous.  It was just really cute and very romantic. 

Sigh.  I love Kauai. 

Kauai - Day 7 - Baby, Lemme Take You On A Sea Cruise

Early morning wake up call - we're booked on a snorkeling & whale-watching tour out of Port Townsend departing at 8am.  There are tons of boat tours to choose from - we went with Holo Holo Charters, and I would definitely recommend them.  They were very professional, and their guides were great as well.  We chose the Na Pali Snorkel Sail.  The tour lasts about 5 hours, and I think it was $95 p/p, something like that.  Worth it, for sure.
  
Like I said, the boat left at 8am, and we only sailed for about 10 or 15 minutes before arriving at the snorkeling stop.  Our tour only stopped this once for snorkeling, so we definitely wanted to take advantage of it.  Secretly, we were also happy that the snorkeling was first thing because they won't serve you any booze until you're done.  Oh, and beer and wine are included with the tour and after our strenuous day yesterday, we had already decided to take FULL advantage this inclusion.  Snorkeling isn't nearly as good in the winter as it is in summer, but we still saw some cool fish and a sea turtle!  The turtle was really cool - it swam right underneath Tim and me, and we were the only ones that saw him so close.  We probably snorkeled for about a half hour or so, but some folks stayed out for an hour.  After getting back on the boat, they had a continental breakfast laid out for us - bagels, breads, fruit, coffee, juice.  Not bad actually. 

And now that we've had our coffee, it's time for a Heineken!

Side note:  No matter where you travel in the world, you can always get a Heineken.  Seriously.  Anywhere.

Now it's basically just time to cruise and ooh and ahh at the Na Pali Coast and drink Heinekens.  Yeah, life is good. 

And then it gets better.  Spinner dolphins!  A ton of spinner dolphins are cruising around our boat.  It's still early, and they are sleepy, so it takes them a little time to really get a-spinnin'.  And then they're hurling themselves out of the water, spinning, spinning, spinning like crazy!  It's so cool.  They are so cool.  I love them. 

Hey, did I mention that I love spinner dolphins?

Before I go on, I will helpfully provide you with a few tips regarding Kauai boat tours. 

1.  Wear a lot of sunblock.  Reapply often.  I only got sunburned once on this trip, and it was today.

2.  Hang on when you are moving around the boat.  It's bumpy, and people get thrown off the boat all the time.  (Okay, I don't know if that's true, but Tim was yelled at several times for not holding on.  So you may not get thrown off, but you'll definitely get yelled at.)

3.  Do you get seasick? If you have ever been seasick or if you have a weak tummy, you may want to skip this tour in the winter.  Or at least bring your dramamine.  We saw several people who were either tossing their cookies over the side of the book or lying on a bench looking green.  Seasickness will greatly decrease the amount of Heinekens that you can drink.

Fortunately, I do not get sick on boats, so I was capable of putting back some more beers during the last few hours of our sea cruise.  They also put out a really nice lunch spread with turkey, ham, cheeses, a few kinds of bread, fruit, pasta salad, cookies.  I was actually pretty impressed with the food.  Tim and I were sitting on the front part of the boat eating our lunch when the best part of the tour happened.

The WHALES.  Whales, whales, whales.  We saw about 20 humpback whales.  They love to come to Kauai in the winter to have babies and make babies.  Yeah, it's romantic even for whales.  I could not believe how many whales we saw.  I wish I had some good photos for you, but sadly, the whales seem to be a bit camera shy.  I will tell you though, this is an experience I will never forget.  I was close to tears a few times.

Side note:  This is coming from a girl who, during the 3rd and 4th grades, refused to wear any clothes without whales on them.  I'm serious.  I had sweaters, turtlenecks, socks, t-shirts, barretts, all with whales on them. I loved whales then, and I love them now.

We got back to the dock around 230p.  We were sunburned and a little tipsy and very, very content.  We drove back to the cottage looking forward to continuing our relaxation.  We enjoyed a few drinks down by the river, grilled up some ahi steaks and veggies, and nursed our sunburns to sleep. 

Day 6 - Kauai - Get Your Boots On

We're up early 'cause we've got our biggest/longest hike planned for today.  We're doing the first portion of the Kalalau Trail and the side trip to Hanakapi'ai Falls.  It's 8 miles total, and we think it's going to take us about 5 hours.  It does not. 

So, the Kalalau Trail is 11 miles one way, and it goes from Ke'e Beach to Kalalau Beach with some super spectacular views of the Na Pali coast.  I hope to someday come back to Kauai and hike the whole thing, but for now, we'll be satisfied with the first portion.

Gentle Reader, you must do this hike if you go to Kauai.  I'm not gonna lie - it's not easy.  I had mud up to my ankles.  Actually, I had mud pretty much everywhere.  It's a very muddy hike in the winter (rainy) season.  It hadn't even really been raining much, and it was still crazy muddy.  Keep in mind too that the first 1/2 mile will have millons of people on it as well.  See, you can get your first Na Pali view by just doing the first 1/2 mile.  And that's what lots of folks choose to do.  Including Japanese tourists in high heels.  Um, WTF?  I had hiking boots on, and I had issues in some places.  After you move past that first viewing point, you won't see nearly as many people.  And on the side trip to the Falls, we really hardly saw anyone. 

First things first:  start this hike early.  I would say the earlier, the better.  And if you're staying on the West, South, or East shores, it's going to take you quite awhile to get to the trailhead.  Bring a lot of water.  Definitely bring lunch if you're doing the Falls trip too.  And plan on getting dirty.  The first 2 miles to Hanakapi'ai Beach isn't difficult.  If you're a beginning hiker, there might be a few dicey parts.  It's mostly downhill, and the mud can be slippery.  DO NOT get near the water at the Beach.  Apparently lots of people have died here.  There is a stream crossing at the end as well.  There are rocks to jump on, and it's not difficult.  But don't be an a**hole and sit on one of the main rocks that folks are using to cross the stream.  This is rude and douchebag-like. 

Honestly, you guys, I cannot even describe how beautiful the Na Pali coast really is so I'm not even going to try.  Here are some of Tim's photos instead.

After you get to the beach, hang out for a bit before beginning your trip on to the Falls.  You'll want to rest up.  This is a fairly tough 2 miles.  The beginning is quite easy though, so it doesn't seem like it's going to be challenging.  I was just crusing along, thinking to myself, "Well, Emily, you are quite the seasoned hiker these days, aren't you?  Nothing you can't handle."  And then we came to the river crossing. 

Ah, the river crossing.

There are rocks to jump on, and it's easier in some places than in others.  We did not choose an easy path.  Tim was sort of helping me, guiding me to the best rocks to jump on, and then it happened.  I put my boot on a rock, could not see the moss that covered it, and slipped.  I fell straight into the river, cut both my knees, and skinned my palms.  More than that, I injured my pride something awful.  And I cried a little.  Don't tell anyone. 

Now my boots and socks are soaked, and I am crabby.  I mean, c'mon!  Hiking with squishy boots sucks!  To his credit, Tim did not laugh.  He is a wise man.  After the river crossing incident (or RCI as it will henceforth be known), my spirts were a bit low.  And this hike gets hard.  There is some climbing, some crawling over rocks, more river crossings.  It seems a lot longer than 2 miles. 

But you're finally rewarded with the Hanakapi'ai Falls, and it is worth it.  Sit on the rocks, eat your lunch, enjoy their beauty.  Swim in the pool if you're brave - this water is hella cold.  And actually, it's kind of chilly near the Falls because there is no sun coming in.  Rest up - 'cause you gotta go back the way you came.  And what goes down must go up. 

The return was pretty tough for me.  I was tired and a little crabby, and the elevation gain on the last 2 miles is challenging.  But again, it's worth it, and if I can do it so can you. 

As I said in the beginning, we thought it would take us 5 hours to complete this hike.  It took us over 6, and Tim and I haul ass when we hike.  I would definitely plan on 6-8 hours for this hike - depending on how fast you hike and how much time you spend at the beach and the waterfall.  But do it.  Seriously, do it.

But don't plan on doing much else that day.  Dirty and tired, we stopped at Kalypso in Hanalei again for beers.  And then we headed home.  TV and pizza and putting our feet up sounded pretty damn good.  And it was.  Oh, and the best pizza on the island is hands-down Brick Oven Pizza.  They've got 2 locations, one in Wailua and one in Lihue.  Delicious whole wheat crust with garlic butter and yummy toppings.  Delicious.  Some Yelp reviews say it's expensive, but if you're from Seattle, you know that $20 for a pizza isn't outrageous.  And when you've hiked 8 miles, you're up for a little splurge on cheesy pizza goodness.

Man, what a great day.  Helluva day.

Day Five - Kauai - Wake Up, Silly Giant!

Good morning, Wednesday! 

After our day where nothing went right, we are up and ready to go.  Yes, gentle reader, another hike.  This morning we're planning on waking up the giant on the Sleeping Giant Hike (aka East Nounou Trail) in Kapa'a.  This hike is about 2 miles each way, and you gain about 1,000 feet in elevation.  This is a great hike.  Gorgeous views, tough in some places, perfect for a morning activity when you've got something planned for the afternoon.

After our hike, we had a deliciously relaxing afternoon.  We lazed around, read, and finally went snorkeling at Lydgate Beach.  Now, I know you won't believe this, but I was actually quite terrified of snorkeling.  I am not a strong swimmer, and I hate having my head underwater.  I knew it was going to be challenging for me, but I was ready to try.  The first few times I put my face in, I ended up coughing and sputtering.  Yes, I know there is no real reason for this.  But with the patience and encouragement from my fabulous fiance, I was totally a snorkeling pro in no time.  And it was super fun!  Now I heart snorkeling.  And we saw some super-cool fish too.  Wish I could remember what they were. 

Early evening we headed out to a restaurant called Hukilau Lanai.  It's in one of the resorts in the Coconut Marketplace, and from 5p - 6p, they have a five course tasting menu for $40 - including wine!  We wisely skipped lunch today so we could take advantage.  And seriously, SO happy we did.  I think this was our best meal on the island.   And it was a really beautiful setting too.  Open-air restaurant with ocean views, great service, and the food was oh-so-good.  I am happy to provide specific menu details if anyone would like them.  Ahem, Abra. 

After our delicious and romantic meal, we headed over to Trees Lounge, also in the Marketplace.  This ended up being our favorite bar in Kauai.  Their happy hour goes until 7p (Kauai happies are usually only until 6p).  They mix up some delicious martinis, and they have some good beer on tap too.  They have live music almost every night, and it's got a great vibe, cool ambience.  Super friendly bartenders and servers too.  We didn't eat anything here, but the menu looked interesting. 

Well-fed and well-hydrated, we're ready for bed at our normal hour of 11pm.  We've got a big hike tomorrow so we need our 8 hours.  Yeah, I think this is an indication of growing old up.  We don't plan our vacays around partying, we plan them around activities.  (And sometimes maitais.) 

Whatever you are, be a good one.

Last night I went to see Land of the Sweets, a burlesque version of the Nutcracker, at the Triple Door. So much fun! First, for those of you that haven't been to the Triple Door - it was my first time - this place is fantastic. Super cool vibe, great food from Wild Ginger, posh decor. The tables are tiered, so it didn't really feel like there could be a bad seat. If you have 4 people in your group, you can reserve your own cozy little booth. It was just myself and Maura this time, but it's definitely in the plan to bring along a few more ladies or the boys the next time around.

But we weren't there for the venue. No, we were there for the ladies! And, a couple men as well. (Side note: when men perform in burlesque shows, it's called boylesque. I did not know this.)

The women in the show were incredible - they're undeniably talented. But what's most interesting to me is their absolute comfort in their own bodies. These ladies are hot, definitely, but you know, they're not perfect. A little jiggle to the thighs here, a little tummy bump there. They are real women, unairbrushed and unapologetic. They own it. I find this unbelievably empowering. I have been struggling with my own body image lately. I've been working out, taking care of myself, eating right, but I'm still not where I would like to be. I seem to be overexaming my own body, focusing on what's wrong instead of what's right. I am strong now, stronger than I've ever been. I am not afraid of a challenge anymore. I have a newfound confidence in what I can do physically. There is no more fear. And yet. And yet. And yet, I still step on the scale every day and curse it. I still beat myself up over a bit of overindulgement. I still obsess over my (much smaller than before) belly.

Not anymore.

I am not perfect, but I am going to own what I am. I am strong. I am tough. I can hike and climb and run and lift heavy things. I am sexy. And I can eat a big fat cinammon roll. And I can skip a workout. And I am still strong and sexy. Just because I am.

Leftover-pollooza!

Just made a delicious salad with some T-giving leftovers....

Get out your red leaf lettuce and top it with leftover turkey, roasted sweet potatoes or other root veggies, and red onion. Make a yummy & healthy dressing of lowfat plain yogurt, white wine vinegar, and fresh pressed garlic. Top with toasted walnuts.

SO good, seriously.