I'll Be Home For Christmas

I decided to take the planes, trains, and automobiles back to the land of snow and head home to Michigan for the holidays.  It was great decision especially after hearing it rained most of the time here on the island!  Haha.  Such great time with my family and one fun night out with the gang gave me my dose I needed to get through the remainder of my time here on the island.  Lots of food, laughs, and memories built in 5 short days.  As I look through my pictures from the holidays I feel VERY guilty I have zero of my family!  Now back on the island and preparing for a fabulous NYE with my friend Sheryl tomorrow night.  More to come on that!

The girls at Naughty's

Couple of my favorite people in the world.

Wait - how did this picture sneak in there?  He was pretty much glued to my side every second of me being home.  Miss him SOOOOOO much.

I spent one night in Chicago before my 5 am flight back to Honolulu and was able to have a massively yummy meal at one of my favorite places Cafe Ba Ba Reeba.  Cousins and one of my best friends.  Couldn't think of a better way to end my mainland shindig.  See you all in March!



CDM Christmas Party & Mele Kalikimaka BBQ

CDM put on a great party at the Kahala Resort.  Guys in tuxes and ladies in cocktail dresses for a night of champagne, food, and karaoke all overlooking the ocean.  I won an award for New-comer Top Performer.  There was A LOT of champagne drank that night and a lot of fun had by all.

Vic and our awards

Seb had a Melekalikimaka BBQ the day following the Xmas party and while none of us were feeling stellar it was a perfect to sit on the beach, bbq with friends, then of course play the White Elephant Gift.  It was a great day with great friends yet again.



Seb and his famous surfer's chicken!

Ben and Heather won the ultimate 2010 Testicle Toss Championship.  Haha - the award changed hands 4 times and ultimately landed in their hands.  Kudos!

The Melekalikimaka BBQ Gang

Some Christmas decorations around the town.  Hawaii is one of my favorite places in the world but it's tough to make it feel like Christmas in 82 degrees and sunny weather every day!  Glad to head home to Michigan for a week to enjoy it with the family.

Mels Visit

I have been very blessed to have so many friends come visit me while I have been here in Hawaii.  Mel came to see me for 5 fun filled days and we did a lot of wine drinking and talking.......exactly what we do best back home in Chicago.

Our first day we got up and headed to downtown Waikiki for a few Mai Tais and lunch at the famous Duke's.  It was just so nice to sit and catch up with her.  We were a bit bummed because it rained the first two days here but we made up for it on Saturday - spending ALL day AND night at the beach.

Of course I had a fresh lei waiting for her when she landed :)!

After a long day at the beach on Saturday Mel and I decided to get our Christmas photo taken before heading home.......only to shower, change, and head BACK to the beach to meet the crew.

On Sunday we decided to rent a car and just drive around the island so Mel could see it all - to an extent.  We were stuck in Marathon traffic for a good hour but once we got through it was a great day with a leisurely drive around the island.  Before we headed back into town we stopped at the Dole Pineapple Plantation for Pineapple Dole Whip (mom-do you remember this stuff?!  I think I had it for the first time when I went to Disney World at around the age of 8 and it was heaven.  We got it every time we went back there every year!). 

Originally operated as a fruit stand beginning in 1950, Dole Plantation opened to the public as Hawaii’s "Pineapple Experience" in 1989. Today, Dole Plantation is one of Oahu’s most popular visitor attractions and welcomes more than one million visitors a year.  Dole Plantation provides enjoyable activities for the entire family, including the Pineapple Express, the Plantation Garden Tour, and the Pineapple Garden Maze. 

After Mel had a fabulous day at the beach and I worked all day we headed to the Hilton where Mel bought me Kalua Pig Nachos and a few glasses of wine while watching the sunset before she headed home the next day.  We had SO many laughs and memories to take away from her week here with me and I am so glad I got to show it all to her.  She endured the week on the pull-out couch with sunburn but I think she went home happy with Aloha memories to carry her through the cold Chicago winter.

Go Warriors!

Tim arranged a group of us to head to the Hawaii vs UNLV game last Saturday and while I paid for it dearly on Sunday we lived it up large!  We were driven out to the stadium in a PARTY bus, tailgated (or rather had lots of beverages in the party bus while it was parked), and headed in to root the team on.  We had a blast.  I don't remember the final score but I know we won :), haha.  Em laughed at me cause I teared up during halftime when they sang "Somewhere Over the Rainbow".  I was HAPPY!!!!!  The bottom two pictures were of a few of us learning how to surf in Waikiki Beach and Em and I posing in front of the famous Duke statue.  People pay tribute to the statue on a daily basis by placing leis around his arms.

Shark Encounters

Just when I thought the weekend couldn't get any better we all met up on the North Shore Saturday to try out the Shark Encounters snorkeling.  Wow!  I, unfortunately, got a little seasick since the swells were massive but it was worth it.  Some of the sharks were up to twelve feet! 

The boat that takes us out

 Maybe the nerves are setting in a bit?

I had the bad seat on the way out - I was soaked!  Kinda loved it ;).

My girls

The first shark sighting - I think we all wet ourselves

This is how it goes down - pretty sweet.

The crew in our gear.  All in all a pretty unforgettable birthday weekend!

Birthday!!!!

It was a great day of tearing up the windward side of the island on my birthday tooling around in the yellow jeep.  Stopped at a few beaches and grabbed a lunch in Kailua to pack in the cooler to bring to Hanauma Bay.  The snorkeling at Hanauma was amazing.  For the second time while on this trip I had a sea turtle swim with me for a while.  Saw a bunch of other fish as well.  Got home in time to join Jeff and Jenn at Morimoto's for birthday dinner and it was AMAZING.  It topped everything off that we got to see the Chef himself as we were walking out.

 Hanauma Bay is an incredible natural pool that has formed in a volcanic crater. The crater is evidence of a volcanic burst of activity on the island tens of thousands of years ago. These volcanic eruptions formed the crater on the sea floor, and waves from the ocean eventually filled the circular bay.

Jenn and I pre-dinner cocktail



Edition nightclub where the restaurant is.  We watched Waikiki fireworks before heading in to eat.

Chow Time!

Shellfish Balls (I don't remember the real name- they were good though!)

Tempura pineapple with jamon wrap

Pork Gyoza - Inside the pocket were the separate dumplings

This was a local fish dish and all of our favorites.  The waiter prepared the dish table side.  The raw fish was placed on the sides of the hot bowl and seared, then he mixed a raw egg into the hot rice which allowed it to cook.  Amazing!

By far the most fancy dish and had a TON of flavor.  An entire fish fried up.  I stayed away from some parts of it but overall it was phenomenal.

Finally - dessert on the house!  Aw.

To top off a perfect night we get to meet the chef while walking out.  IRON CHEF MORIMOTO!!!

http://www.morimotowaikiki.com/  When am I going back?!