Tuesday Ten: "I Am..."

So I was just now doing a little blog cruising (when I should be thinking about what to make for dinner and folding laundry) and by way of a super-cute handmade bracelet on the Gussy Sews blog I found myself visiting a delightful blog called Miss Mommy. And Miss Mommy just happened to be hosting a link-up today called Tuesday Ten. One of the things I adore most in life is lists. The thought of having an excuse to share a list with you once a week is too much to resist, so I'm giving the Tuesday Ten link-up a go. Today's prompt is a fill-in-the-blank questionairre starting with "I am ___ right now." Interestingly, the very honest answers Miss Mommy herself filled into the blanks are very similar to my own thougts on life. But to avoid being redundant, I'll answer a little differently. Here goes!

1. I am... fantasizing about having another piece of Green and Black's 70% Dark Chocolate. Yum!
2. I wonder... where Jarrod and I will move after our three years in Hawaii is up. One thing I love about being a military spouse is the sense of adventure and excitement that comes with moving every three years.
3. I see... other bloggers with hundreds or thousands (or any number higher than 13) followers and feel very envious.
4. I want... A friend recently went to dinner at another couple's home and raved to me about the amazingly delicious gourmet dinner they served. I want to be the person being raved about.
5. I pretend... that I'm far more self-confident than I am.
6. I worry... incessantly. One thing I'm really worried about right now is my husband's squadron Christmas party Thursday night. It'll be the first time I've seen a former friend since the massive and horrible blow-up we had back in August. Sigh...
7. I cry... not very often. I hate everything about crying. But every once in a while, a good cry is just waht I need.
8. I hope... (selfishly) that Jarrod doesn't deploy to Afghanistan while we're in Hawaii. Or ever, if I'm being honest.
9. I dream... of having a job that I love, and where where I'll feel respected and valued, and know that I'm making an important contribution to society. Or at least a job that makes me feel like I'm doing something worthwhile.
10. I feel... vulnerable. This turned out to be a lot harder and more introspective that I imagined!

My Happiness Project

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I read a short magazine article the other day about an Australian study that found a group of women who wrote down three positive aspects of their day every evening for two weeks were significantly "more content" at the end of the study. The magazine blurb touted that readers could "be happier by New Year's Eve." Something about this piqued my interest, and I've decided to give it a try. Every day from now until December 31st, I'll write down three things that made me happy each day.

I can understand the logic of this excercise. It helps you to become more aware of pleasurable moments in your day, and if you're already on the lookout for happy things you'll probably savor them even more when they occur. Plus, it forces you to find the bright spots in even the most terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days.

At the end of December I'll let you know if I'm feeling more content and share some of the highlights of my lists with you. For now, here are three good parts of yesterday:

1. Conan actually getting in the tub on his own when it was time for his bath. And later, running my hands along his soft, clean fur as we snuggled on the couch.
2. A hug from my husband when he's looking handsome in his Air Force blues.
3. Watching "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" on TV.

Book Review: "A Turn in the Road"

"A Turn in the Road" by Debbie Macomber
Originally published in 2011
My rating: 3.5 out of 5

Debbie Macomber's "A Turn in the Road" was tough for me to rate. Overall, I really liked the book. Debbie's writing style is easy to read and the plot was interesting, if somewhat predictable. But then again, another thing I like about Debbie Macomber's novels is that they're feel-good books that always have a happy ending, by nature making them predictable. Still, there were a few things that irked me about Debbie M.'s latest "Blossom Street" novel.

"A Turn in the Road" takes the main character, Bethanne, her ex-mother-in-law, and her daughter on a road trip from Seattle to Florida. The central plot is that Bethanne's ex-husband of six years -- who abandoned his wife and family for a younger woman after 20 years of marriage -- has suddenly seen the error of his ways and desperately wants to reunite his family. The problem is, Bethanne is a very different person than she was six years ago; she's come into her own and now operates a very successful party business. And toward the beginning of the cross-country road trip on which Bethanne plans to decide whether or not to give her ex-husband a second chance, she meets an unlikely man who makes her heart flutter and forces her to reconsider everything.

That's all well and good. I enjoyed the plot for the most part. But I was mildly annoyed at how completely and almost sickeningly nice and selfless Bethanne is to make such a valiant effort at giving her ex-husband another chance. She's convinced that for the sake of their 20-year marriage and their two (adult!) children, she must at least attempt to make things work. Nevermind the fact that her ex-husband cheated on her, abandoned her and never looked back for six years, or the fact that she doesn't really love him anymore. Such self-sacrifice just seems like such an antiquated position on marriage and family for modern times. I felt the same about a few other parts of the novel, such as when the womens' family members don't feel it's "safe" for them to travel across the country without a man along to protect them. I was also bothered by how immaturely Bethanne's 22-year-old daughter is portrayed. Not only is she whiny, selfish and clingy, she's convinced she can manipulate the situation to make her parents fall in love again. I realize that -- at 26 -- I'm not in the same age group as Debbie Macomber's target audience, but I enjoy reading her novels along with my mom so we can talk about them together.

Sometimes I just wish Debbie would get in step with women's views of the 21st century, or maybe I should say sightly younger women's views, or maybe just my views. But perhaps the very same facets of her novels that get on my nerves are what draws some women to them. Things like family, true love, morals, and strong men romancing and taking care of women are paramount in Debbie's novels but gradually waning in today's society. Debbie's books -- and plenty of other romance series -- are a way to recapture those ideals. Either way, I'd recommend sampling this or any of Debbie's books. For the most part, I think they're enjoyable and easy reads that leave me feeling satisfied... (and occasionally annoyed).

Furry Friday

It's been a while since I've done a Furry Friday post to show off our two furry babies, Conan and Lily. But this afternoon we're meeting up with our friend, Li -- who also happens to be a professional photographer -- to take family pictures to send out in our Christmas cards. This picture is the one that went in last year's Christmas cards and I absolutely love it. We're sticking with the Hawaiian theme this time -- Jarrod, Conan and I will all be wearing fresh-flower leis!

On Failure

I don't do well with failure. And during the past two years that we've lived in Hawaii I've learned a few things about myself, one of which is that I don't let go of negative events easily. I still catch myself ruminating about small personal slights or regrets from years ago that nobody else would even remember. So it was with a mixture of trepidation and excitement that I signed up to have a booth at the Hickam AFB fall craft fair.

As I carefully set up my display last Saturday morning, I hoped and wished and crossed my fingers that the day would be a success, despite the fears in the back forefront of my mind that no one would be interested in my products and I'd leave the craft fair many yarn-wrapped wreaths richer and many dollars pooer. I was already feeling vulnerable and slightly awkward about putting my own creations on display for the world to see with the expectation that people would actually want to pay money for my knitted items and go on to wear them or display them in their homes. Turns out, people didn't actually want to pay money for my knitted items.

Hello, failure. Rarely have I felt so disheartened in my life. I only had a month and a half to prepare for the craft fair and I spent nearly every day brainstorming and creating. The past two weeks were spent with my butt on the couch (which, by this time, had molded to fit my backside perfectly) knitting and crafting almost non-stop. I made hats, mitts, coffee cup cozies, rosette pins, knitted jewelry, and 10 yarn-wrapped wreaths. I worked so hard, and (to use a cliched phrase) I put myself out there -- something that's not easy for this shy and often overly-cautious girl to do.

I made about $100, but after the $42.50 I paid to rent a space at the fair and the cost of supplies, I actually lost money. Not to mention, I couldn't resist doing a little shopping at some of the other vendors' booths. I'm trying to put the disappointment behind me. Maybe this means my knitting isn't as great as I think it is. Or maybe my friends and family are right and it just wasn't the right venue for yarn-made crafts. It is Hawaii, after all.

I did learn something else about myself from this experience -- not much will cheer me up like whining to my ever-patient mom on the phone for almost an hour, then hearing two of my favorite songs on the radio back-to-back while on the way to get a deliciously fattening comfort-food meal for a takeout dinner. And on the bright side, I'm now the proud owner of some gorgeous yarn-wrapped wreaths and a couple cute knitted hats!

Book Review: "Eragon"

"Eragon" by Christopher Paolini
Originally published in 2003
My rating: 4.5 out of 5

So I'm just going to come right out with it. I'm apparently in love with young adult fantasy fiction. I can't imagine any series topping "Harry Potter," but I also devoured the "Hunger Games," "Twilight" and "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" series, and now I'm hooked on Christopher Paolini's "Inheritance" series. I guess there's just something about the books that draws me (and millions of other not-so-young adults) in. The plots are interesting and easy to follow. The themes are relatable. The writing style (at least of these particular series) is typically simple but not dumbed-down. They're relaxing, easy, pleasurable reads. It's so easy to get lost in these books and allow myself to be transported to another time and place, where vampires and dragons and wizards and Greek gods abound.

"Eragon" has a somewhat similar storyline to the first books in the "Harry" and "Percy" series. A normal-ish boy with no parents is suddenly thrust into a whole new life full of adventure, magic, monsters and a massive good vs. evil battle of which he turns out to be a central part. What sets this book apart is the existence of dragons and Dragon Riders, as well as new kinds of magic and some very creative villains. If you enjoyed these other books, you probably won't be able to put "Eragon" down.

One of the best parts about just now getting around to reading "Eragon" is that the fourth and final installment in the series came out this month. There's a certain savory joy that comes with anticipating the release of a new novel in a favorite series, but honestly I'd rather be able to read all the books at once. And so I shall! That is, after I read the new Janet Evanovich book, and a book I have to return to my mom, and some Christmas books...

Over The Rainbow

A week ago today I flew to Kauai to spend the day with my best friend, Katie, who was visiting the Garden Isle on vacation. My wonderful day started off with this stunning rainbow over Oahu, which I was lucky enough to photograph out the plane window as we were taking off from the airport. I love the beautiful blue color of the water and the hint of a double rainbow.

Swimmin' In A Water Wonderland

On Sunday Jarrod and I took a new friend to our favorite snorkeling spot in Hawaii (on the planet?), Hanauma Bay. We had a fantastic time, as always, but we saw even more amazing wildlife than normal. We went much later in the day than usual, about 4 p.m., and I guess it was dinner time for the sea turtles because we saw tons of these graceful honu.

We also saw our first octopus! This thrilled me the most, because I have a mental list of wildlife I want to see while we're in Hawaii and an ocotopus was one of the last critters on the list that we hadn't yet encountered.

I was fascinated by the force with which he shot water out of his siphon (that tube over by his eye). I was really hoping he'd come out of the rocks so we could see his tentacles and suction cups. He didn't do that, but at least he posed for some photos!

As always, we saw hundreds of beautiful fish. This is the Hawaiian state fish, a triggerfish known in Hawaiian as humuhumunukunukuapua'a.