Humuhumunukunukuapua'a

You may have assumed my title was nonsense, perhaps my elbow hit the keyboard 20 keys too many while reaching for my homemade nachos? Yes, I am eating homemade nachos, but that word is the ACTUAL name of the state fish here in Hawaii. Isn't it great? The fish isn't as long as it's name, but it's almost just as cool. I was able to see them, in fact I was able to see tons of really great fish while snorkeling at Hanauma Bay on Saturday. It was by far the most amazing snorkeling adventure I have ever been on. I would dare to say it was top 5 coolest things I've even done in my life. (and I've done some pretty cool things in the last 23.5 years.) I went with Natalie on what I thought was going to be a fun day snorkeling, hoping to see a few fish...maybe even a turtle. A few fish I did see! At one point, I counted 27 fish around me!!! Not only were there tons of fish to see, they inches away from me! I was so excited after we left, I stopped at the gift shop to buy a "Hawaii Field Guide: Reef Fish" so I could show everyone the kinds of fish I saw. Here are a few:

Humuhumunukunukuapua'a

Stripebelly Puffer

Redlipped Parrotfish

Orangespine Unicornfish

I'm not the best snorkeler, not that snorkeling is THAT difficult. But I have a hard time staying high enough above the water that my snorkel doesn't fill up with saltwater. Good news, the guy that invented the snorkel made it possible to blow out all the water out of your snorkel while still underwater. Bad news, you have blow ridiculously hard in order to get rid of all the water and when trying to do so, I would scare all the fish away. So then I made the decision to hold my breath longer, which didn't work and I left Hanauma Bay with 2 quarts of saltwater in me. That mattered very little in the grand scheme of things. The view from the bay is BEAUTIFUL!!! (pictures courtesy of my mom and dad back home who sent me a digital camera so I wouldn't have to lug my other one around. Thank you again.)

The marine life and scenery here is beyond my imagination. I had no idea what I was getting myself into before moving here. I'm so glad I took that leap.

I am still taking care of kitties. I am really going to have to find a way to the Hawaii Humane Society. I love them to death, and I am getting really attached to them. I don't think I'm doing a favor by keeping them here either. Although I am providing food, and shelter and lots of love... I can't provide that forever, and I feel really misleading now. =( It makes me so sad to not know their future... but they need good permanent homes.

During the summer, me and Coy boiled crawfish a few times (delicious) and he would always boil onions with them. I am not an onion lover by any means, but these onions were sweet and were so good! I had a random craving for boiled sweet onions last night which (you could of guessed it) turned out to be yet another extravaganza! I DID have an onion, but I needed crawfish seasoning...and didn't want to walk 6 blocks to the grocery store, so I visited 3 ABC stores instead. Apparently in Hawaii, they don't boil crawfish... or carry Tony Chachere's FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! So I bought the next best thing. Tabasco sauce. To make a long story short, don't substitute creole seasoning for Tabasco Sauce... it doesn't work. I also made some mini quiche for dinner which turned out okay. I would give it a 5.5 out of 10. Probably not going to make it again for a while, but it was worth a shot.

By the way, I was having black tea withdrawls and can not afford Starbucks every morning so I once again, found a way to satisfy these cravings. I found out that the hospital carries hot water by the coffee station, has free water cups and packets of honey. SOOOO I bought a pack of Black Tea blags for $2.19 and bring a tea bag with me to work! Vuala!

Last but not least, I lit my most favorite candle today that I have been waiting over YEAR to light. The reason behind my madness? Well, it's a very rare candle that took me about 3 months to find online and are pretty expensive. Coy bought me this one over a year ago, and I told him I wouldn't light it until I moved out and found a place to call home. Well, this is my home for a bit and my bathroom was beginning to stink like kitten, so I finally lit it. Trapps Black Pepper Candle...mmmm, perfection.


Well, I celebrated Labor Day today...literally. I did manual labor all day cleaning out storage units and moving boxes etc. etc. I wish I could go back to Care Bear party planning. That was much less exhausting :)

Peace.Love.Snorkel.

p.s. Online I found a giant gummy bear... on a stick! 1 giant gummy bear = 88 regular gummy bears!!!

How ridiculous is that?? I want one. =)