Her First French Braid

This Was The First Photo I Took In Hawaii

Things I Already Love About Living Here

• Trash (rubbish, it's called here) is picked up TWICE a week, not once.
  
• People drive slower here than they do in California. In a good way.
  
• Finn picks up freshly fallen plumerias on his walk to school every morning.
  
• I can hear doves, ducks or gekkos at almost any time of day or night.
  
• I can buy sashimi, poke and fresh sushi -- in bulk -- at Costco.
  
• There are certain views, roads and vantage points that remind me of my favorite parts of Baja.
  
• The local food options (gourmet dining aside) are plentiful, affordable and diverse.
  
• The ocean water temperature is so warm you can stay in the water for hours before chattery teeth and blue lips set in.
  
• I used to think the famous Hawaiian trade winds could be a bit annoying -- erratically blowing things over, encouraging dust in the house, even waking up our always lightsleeping little Shea in the middle of the night. Then we had a couple of still, sweltering August days without them and I quickly had a change of heart. Now I LOVE the trade winds, dust and all.
  
• The slower pace here reminds me of my former home town, as it was during the '70s.
  
• Can't bear another burger? You can order Saimin at the airport, at Ala Moana Beach -- and at McDonalds.
  
• The only time I've put on a sweater here was when the air conditioning in a restaurant was turned up too high for my personal climate zone.
  
• Hanauma Bay.
  
• People really do live aloha here.

Living La Vida Aloha

Well, hello there!

We took a long break, then a long last look, then a long plane ride, and now we're here.

Living in Hawaii.

Pinch me; I still sometimes can't believe it's true.

Many of you have kindly inquired about what life's been like now that we're somewhat settled into our new routine and location, so I've assembled a mini primer for you with lots and lots of photos!

OUR NEW ISLAND LIFE IN REVIEW: DOMESTICITY EDITION

Every Friday we try to make a trip into "town" to visit John on his lunch hour.

Sometimes we pack a picnic, as we did when we watched the Royal Hawaiian Band perform on the grounds of the Iolani Palace.

Sometimes we visit prominent Hawaiian cultural sites, like the statue of King Kamehameha in front of the Aliiolani Hale, the home of the Hawaii State Supreme Court.

And sometimes we simply venture into Chinatown for amazing noodle dishes and fresh produce.

Bourgeois as it may seem, Saturdays are generally reserved for chores and household cleaning and repairs, (and more recently, soccer games, but more on this in a future post), but every Sunday we try to explore a new beach. I think there are enough on this island to keep us busy in this pursuit for years.

But on a day-to-day basis, it's really just business as usual around these parts.

Since it's been quite hot and humid, the kids seem to subsist on the standard summer diet staple across the nation: Popsicles. The only twist is that most of theirs are homemade, and should really be called POGsicles.

There is also much Play-Doh action in the backyard.

The biggest news, I suppose, is that little Finn -- my firstborn who it seems only just recently came home from the hospital bundled in a baby blue onesie -- started KINDERGARTEN.

Shea's also leaving babyhood behind at an alarming rate by doing extremely well in her potty-training adventures. I think (*fingers crossed*) that we're just days away from finally throwing away all the diapers and Pull-Ups. (Or at least tucking them away in the back end of the closet.)

Other regular activities include:

Costume dress-up...

Tandem skateboarding...

And bandying about in only bathing suits...


or even less.

Yeah, we pretty much love it here.

Coming Up For Air

I had forgotten about moving.

About how it requires you to process EVERY SINGLE THING you own and weigh it on the scales of importance or relevance in your life.

About how, now that we’re a family of four (as opposed to the last time we moved, when we were just Newlyweds: Plenty of Free Time Not as Much Stuff Party of Two, your table's ready), four people accumulate more than four times their worth of necessary stuff.

About how liberating and freeing getting rid of the clutter in your life can be, granting you a fresh start and a clean slate.

After about five days of weeding, packing and cleaning, running on an average of five hours of sleep each night, too much coffee and visions of sandy Hawaiian beaches, I started to feel the surreal hum of our impending life change.

And it was exhilarating.

* * * * *

John will be leaving for Hawaii this week and the kids and I will follow next month, eager to begin our new adventures in the islands.

We’ve all been looking pretty shaggy lately, what with all the moving boxes and dust flying around, so we took the chance this past weekend to get ourselves much-needed haircuts.

Here’s a shot of the results of Shea’s first sit-in-the-seat-like-a good-girl haircut. She was a champion.

Taking Time For Bubbles, Amidst The Bubble Wrap And Packing Tape

The Big Reveal

My recent and conspicuous absence from this blog may have been perplexing to some of you out there. After all, just a half a year ago I was posting every single day and showed heartfelt devotion to creating daily entries. And the last few months have been, well..., pretty bloody dismal, right?

(Are you out there anymore, by the way, or have you just given up on me? I wouldn't blame you if you have, but if you're reading this I imagine you held out a glimmer of hope for a possible return to the keyboard and I thank you for it.)

You may be happy to learn that my absence wasn't born out of writer's block.

Nor was it due to blogger malaise or lack of content.

It was because John and I were methodically and diligently busy focusing all of our energies on turning one of our life's dreams into a reality.

And guess what?

It worked.

* * * * * * * * * * *

WE'RE MOVING
TO HAWAII!

As in moving all our furniture and pots and pans and CDs and books and kids and staying there.

As in not coming home 10 days later after a nice mid-winter break, tan and relaxed.

As in getting new driver's licenses and finding new supermarkets and dry cleaners and beaches and doctors and kindergartens.

We're thrilled. We're excited. And we're incredibly busy.

The next few months will be a period of transition as we move out of our place -- the one John and I moved into as newlyweds, the one where we brought our new babies to straight from the hospital, the one we've called home for the last six years -- and into suitcases and shipping containers and short-term limbo as we begin a new chapter of our lives in the islands.

I'll be back online once we're settled in and I hope to have great stories about our trans-Pacific adventures. In the meantime, here are a few photos of the spectacular slice of paradise we'll soon be lucky enough to call our new home.

Our Little Mermaid Turns Two Today

We Had Three Hams For Easter This Year

Happy Easter

Cerulean Just May Be My Favorite One

It's often said that Ireland has 40 different shades of green.

Hawaii, I'm convinced, has an equal number of shades of blue.

Here are about 10.

How I Know When I Haven't Had Enough Grown-Up Time

Tonight, while sitting around the production table with my magazine students, I noticed that the editor in chief had wrapped around his thumb what looked like a white bandage.

"Oh, did you get an owie?" I asked him, without thinking -- and without even the smallest trace of irony.

Stunned, he giggled, unraveling a plastic bag containing a small sandwich that had partially wrapped around his thumb, giving me the impression that he was sporting a bandage.

"Oh," I giggled, trying not to blush. Attempting a graceful recovery, I countered with, "I bet you can tell that I just spent the entire day with a four year old and a one year old."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

So it is on that note that I officially proclaim SPRING BREAK '07 for Double Duty Diary. We're off for a little grown-up R&R time and will be back soon with pictures and stories.

And hopefully full, cohesive *adult* sentences that don't include the words potty, boo boo, night night, or the ever-dreaded owie.

Sheesh.

Red Is Totally Her Color

They've Never Seemed As Old As They Did Today

Won't You Join Me For Coffee?

One thing you may already know about me concerns my adoration of coffee. It's my life's blood, and I seek its warm comforts every morning, even though I've recently switched over to making myself decaf (gasp!) whenever I'm at home.

Something else that's equally innate to my personality is my love for a good bargain. I can work a thrift store like a bloodhound on a budget, finding treasures buried among disasters.

So I present to you the perfect storm of two of my favorite things colliding into one, perfectly caffeinated, wallet-friendly indulgence: Free coffee.

As I discovered at the Buzz Off, Starbucks will be doling out free 12-ounce cups of coffee this Thursday, March 15th, between 10am and noon.

Not to be outdone by their grungy competitor, Dunkin' Donuts will be chilling their true opiate of the masses next Wednesday, March 21st, offering free 16-ounce iced coffees all the live-long day.

Imagine what I'll do with all my newfound exuberance after participating in both caffeine giveaways! Write a novel? Disinfect the entire house? Tackle those six loads of laundry that have been glaring at me all week?

Who knows? Maybe I'll even start blogging a little more frequently. (Ha! If only there were enough coffee in the world for that one...)

The Completely Bearable Lightness Of Being

Messin' Around