Crystal Clear

My Cousin Blogged about the Disney Cruise

A while back I shared my family was on MySpace. Well I forgot to mention  my cousin wrote a brief rundown so since I never posted my pics or take on the cruise check this out blog.myspace.com/jordanzmama!

Don't forget to take a look at her pictures too. Actually she, one of my other cousins, and my sister all have some photos of the cruise. You can catch a glimpse of myself and the boys in there if you keep your eyes open. My pics of the cruise aren't all that great and in fact are a bit disappointing. I did find a great one of my parents on pirate night though. Both of the boys are still talking about the cruise. Nethan really wants to go on another cruise and talks about "the big white ship"...just this morning he said "Remember on the Disney Cruise.." this was out of nowhere... I don't think he will remember the cruise genuinely but sure won't hurt to keep reminding him of it.

Finding Paradise was Never Easier

Perhaps of all the industries that have excelled at using the internet to promote interest and increase exposure to potential clients, the travel industry has truly used the internet to its greatest advantage and that of tourists. However, this has meant both good and bad news for prospective travelers. A healthy abundance of good sites keep interest and sales strong and keeps wannabe travelers like myself scouring the internet but unfortunately there are  a good share of useless waste of time sites that can easily frustrate potential travelers like myself and leave us wondering where that great site with great information we loved was or IS. Having returned from a Caribbean vacation and Caribbean Disney Cruise  in August and residing in one of the most  highly popular tropical vacation spots of the world, Oahu, leaves me I believe in a pretty good spot to recommend travel sites to you if you are interested in a great site that  include reviews of island vacations and cruising and feedback from tourists who have experienced the best beaches, tropical vacations, and cruises this beautiful world of ours has to offer.

    The Warm Islands site is organized extremely well. The site makes it very easy to quickly find information about the spots you may be interested in visiting or exploring  and providing a great deal of "been there done that" experience on their member forums. I would highly recommend joining the forums at the earliest point when you are either deciding on a vacation destination or have decided on a vacation spot and want the most up to date and current traveler information.

As an extra benefit to get you in the mood or to recapture those great memories, they also have some great recipes available. From Apple Onion marinated pok tenderloin to Baba-ghannouj
there are some quick and easy recipes offered under the food and drink category.

I guess those recipes from Hawaii for poi and lomi lomi or poki haven't quite made it there yet!Nevertheless, even if just in the first stages of thinking about a warm island vacation...check it out.

 

Just Where Do You Go for Vacation When You Live in Hawaii

A Disney Cruise of course! And a family reunion for 19 of us to boot! There is still a bit of concern my grandfather won't be joining us...I just can't stand the thought of him not going with us... Can not stand it...I just think of what I would give if my beloved Grandmother could be with us on this cruise in her honor...let alone be with us, period...I would give anything..ANYTHING...I miss her terribly. Friday was her birthday and it just majorly sucked all day and all night long.

The boys are of course very excited about the cruise and yet poor Nethan is having a hard time understanding it is still a few weeks away. I am very excited as well but this worry my grandfather won't be coming with us is really wearing on me and the others.

This cruise has been on my Things I Most Want to Do for a very very long time. It is really even more special though because all of us are going together. Largely because I can't stand Phoenix and very few of them ever came to Ventura, the times the family has been all together the past few years has never been for  more than a holiday gathering. The boys, and especially Bryceton, really enjoy hanging out with their cousins. I myself have not spent much time with my 5 year old niece and sadly have grown a bit apart from my nephew as he enters the teen years. Although I can imagine 9 days of all of us together could be a bit trying, I am betting that good ol' Disney Magic is going to spell success!

Crystal in a Bikini

Circa 1971...my first trip my sister Wendy with our Grandmother...

Sis and I actually getting along...

The two of us with our Great-Grandmother

and my most favorite pic of all from this group... my mother at the age of 25......

That Point

A day or so ago I hit that point in the trip. That point is the point when I start to think about what might happen or would happen if I just decided "Hey, I am not going back."
I am totally and absolutely 100% serious. But yep I think about hey, this is my parents' condo and what are they gonna do??? Eventually they will come back but they would never kick us out. I would want to move before they wanted us to leave and I know I could find a place before that happened. As far as my ghetto home in Ventura...Fuck it....Yep those words came out of my fingers. I have no attachment to that place...other than some personal items you can have everything right down to my dirty 1995 Blazer. They have a beautiful PT Cruiser here that has less than 10K miles on it...Although I do hate driving around in a car that has "To Cute" for a license plate because I hate people thinking that I spelled "Too" the wrong way. As far as friends...well if you live in Hawaii it is pretty safe to say that anyone you really want to see again is eventually gonna come to visit. What else? My job? Hmm ...As much as I love what I do and as much as I love the group home kids...and I genuinely do...they could easily replace me and I am always surprised by how easy it is for me to let go of thinking and worrying about them...Not to mention that of course there are certainly group homes for foster teenagers here in Hawaii that need psychotherapy too...So you see there is really no reason to not stay and more reasons to stay!! ... Indeed I have asked Bryceton if he is sure he wants to go back and he answered "Yes, he is not ready to stay...yet."
I forget about this point. I am always surprised by it and yet it has come during every single trip except for the year I was married. One year I tried to convince my sister to get off the plane. I told her "Hey, noone would doubt that we got into a fight and missed the flight..." She had a boyfriend back in Phoenix though and was not willing.
Bryceton already knows that when Nethan heads to college in seventeen years I will be heading here to stay for good for the rest of my days... Until that time I guess we just keep visiting and I will keep hitting this point...

Bad Run of Luck Continues

Yesterday we actually tried to head out to Kailua but there was some awful accident on Pali highway. So awful that they actually had us going the wrong way on the highway to get out of the mess. Instead we ended up at Ala Moana . Nice family friendly beach but Bryceton was stung twice by Jelly Fish...
Today we wake up to not a drizzle but R A I N.... So I decide we should just head to the Waikik IMAX but learn when I try to look at showtimes that they closed it several years ago...With a week to go in our trip I feel just as harassed and tired as I did when I arrived...However at least I do have shaved legs, a bit of a Hawaiian tan, and a favorite reader Andy has returned declaring himself part of my loyal readership!

Single Motherhood "Aloha" Style

Well in the interest of travel horror stories our trip has started off with a real doozy. The flight with the two boys was really not too bad. I was so exhausted I napped two different times and was fortunate because since I had to hold Nethan that he decided to nap as well. Once we arrived the fun began as we tried to make it through Honolulu International with the stroller...this should not have been such a trial but it was. Then the shuttle...should not have been such a trial but it was... then we arrive and well first off Nethan has had a rough time with the jet lag. Then I was not feeling so hot but thought it was just the exhaustion from staying up before coming but we fell asleep the first night at 6:30 p.m noticed I said fell asleep. So tired couldn't even make it to the bedroom but that didn't stop Nethan from fussing and waking every few hours through the night. Finally around 3:30 a.m I managed to get into the actual bed. Friday was spent at Costco or rather Wrongway here had some issues remembering where it actually was since it has been two years so it took a while to find it and then as I said poor Nethan was having a heck of a time with the change in time...When Bryceton received a 2nd wind we did manage to head across the street to the Hilton Hawaiian Village for the fireworks. Today the plan was to get up and use jet lag to our advantage and hit the swapmeet and then Sam's Club and then finish it off with Wal-mart. Great plan and although logistically a very long day...totally doable unless Bryceton looks like hell and complains his throat and tummy hurt and has a 102 fever... Which is of course exactly what happened... Spent the day cleaning up one child and one mess after the other...Bryceton was a real trooper and I feel just awful for him... He was whining and scared when he lost control of both ends of himself if you get my drift...It is possible Nethan looked and acted so fussy yesterday because he had something similiar
or he is still going to get it...Nevertheless we made it through and I am still hopeful we are going to have a great time...All this just gave time to reflect on the differences in my Hawaiian vacations over the past few decades...

1984: I was 21 and had graduated college and spent the summer here...that was an amazing time...I think I will elaborate at some future time but jump a decade to 1994 and you find I had a great time as I had broken up with that loser Jeff In 2002 I was here with Bryceton and praying and preparing to get pregnant and hold a Nethan in my arms and onwards to today 2004...Single mom caring for my boys and still have not made it to the beach yet and whereas 20 years ago I would just about now at 8:30 be finishing my dinner date and making excuses to get home to get ready to go out at around midnight to meet up with someone different or meet new someone(s). In 1994 I was most likely caught up in reading some novel and probably less than 50% chance I went out on a Friday night alone or with someone. In 2004 I am about to go clean up all the crumbs on the towels from Nethan's feast and a boot a load of laundry of clothing with green barf and green poop on them...I tell ya' time and time again... single motherhood is not for the weak and now also add single motherhood is not for the weak in the stomach or for those prone to gagging...And of course if you were even wondering or if it isn't crystal clear ...let me make it Crystal Clear...caring for my sons  and cleaning up their barf and poop is actually my dream come true and my prayers answered...

Yes as a Matter of Fact I am...

CRAZY & TIRED
I hit a point where I decided I might as well as just stay up all night. Yes miserable. It is 3:32 a.m and I figure I will shower about 4 and just be very careful I don't fall asleep while driving. I still need to run by the bank... Amazing how a few years ago going to Hawaii did not include so many wires and adapters...Not to mention the baby accoutrement...Sheesh... I am beat. I am not even excited right now... Right now I am just full of self-loathing for leaving this all to the last minute and yet frankly I have not been goofing off these days...Doctor appointment, PT, & OT twice. One quote for cutting back the ivy: $650 YIKES and one quote for maid service. And today another maid service came and I am NOT impressed. They did just as good a job as the place that charges less than 1/2 as much and so I feel very ripped off. Funny how different people have different views of clean.What's with all the italics...Does that come along with lack of sleep and posting after 3:00?

Aloha

Of course things couldn't go well. I did not get the major things done on my to-do list and my mother had to call and start a fight. I thought we had been over this a few weeks ago when I told her AND my father that I would no longer be discussing breastfeeding with her and that I would give a warning and then I would HANG UP THE PHONE. I am true to my word. I did give a warning and hung up. Then she called back and I told Bryceton he could talk to her and she asked to speak to me. She immediately started in that she was ASHAMED of me as a mother. Yes that indeed was a quote. I just hung up the phone AGAIN. A bit later the phone rings and my dad leaves a message noting that I am "dodging" calls and goes on to say how I have made some horrific bad decisions in my life and well I was listening from the other room so I didn't hear it all. What a joke.
This is not a breastfeeding issue. This is a I am a grown woman and mother to 2 children and I heard what she had to say several weeks ago. I heard it and it does not change my actions at all. Nope. If I called Michelle and asked her about breastfeeding she might say the same thing as my mom OR she might agree with me. Bottom line... it does NOT matter what she says because I have already decided. It is NOT open for discussion. I have NO doubts in my mind at ALL. YES I might be wrong but that is not the issue. I also MIGHT be dead on RIGHT. There is more likelihood that I am right than I am wrong. I am hardly breastfeeding at all and so why is she starting something? I don't feel the need to explain how much or how frequently I am or am NOT breastfeeding. It is not the issue. I know how she feels and thinks. Sheesh... she is overworked in taking care of my dad who had knee surgery yesterday and taking care of my grandma and being in Phoenix when I am headed off to their condo in Waikiki tomorrow... I am not interested in what she or they have to say about breastfeeding. I already know what they think. They have made it clear how they think and I have made it clear I think differently and am not going to take THEM into consideration. There is NOT one thing I could say that would change her mind. AND frankly there is nothing she could say that would change my mind. So why go there? In my mind she clearly wanted to start something out of not only her concern but her own misery...I am not partaking...

One More Day

Aloha Vacation!

After finishing last night I realized that yahoo travel and the other travel sites had glaring omissions...Aloha Air and Hawaiian Air. I was able to find flights out on Wednesday the 21st and returning the 13th of August but I was not able to get the work ok or cover my clients in time to book it. No matter we are officially booked now to leave on the 22nd in the early morning and return the 13th of August. So yes it will be a glorious and I mean to make it that way too

Just Another Day in Hell

Not that there is that much more to add on to last night's brief post but figured I would go ahead and add a bit for Bryceton and Nethan's sake. So today we did head out to spend some time with Papa Earl. Uncle was also there for a bit. There is craziness going on again between my mom and grandpa. Craziness just begets craziness and I find it all just ridiculously silly. Over the years I have done a fair job at remaning on the fray of it. Easiest way is to just not talk about either one of them with the other or if you have to talk at all.. the best way is to always say something you would or could say in front of the person you are speaking about. I hope I can continue to do stay on the fringe as I love them all very much and seem to realize each is very full of human faults.
Afterwards I drove Bryceton by the house on 7th Avenue I grew up in. At first I actually drove right by it. They have changed some things and it is not even the same color.Also while I was growing up the corner lot was empty except for the swimming pool. Now it has a whole house on it. A yucky feeling washed over me but the area looks different and there are so many bad memories that not one partiuclar one stands out.
A freak rainstorm hit and we didn't make it to Encanto Park. whoops...
The jacuzzi is calling....ahhhh nope that is BRYCETON calling that it is time for the jacuzzi...