Monday Musings

Weekly highlights: It's been a weird week for us. We're tired of living out of suitcases, we're tired of eating out, we're tired of house hunting and we're tired of the other various issues we've had (like delaying having our kitty flown out because we couldn't find cat-friendly accommodations; Hawaii is not a very pet-friendly place). We finally found a house that's decent and meets most of our needs, and we had tentatively decided to take it. We'd move in the end of next week, which sounds great -- except when we called the moving company they said they're all booked up and our stuff can't be delivered until July 1! We're still going to take the house, I think, and try to make do with the military's crappy loaner furniture for a few weeks. (But we'll have to go out and buy things like sheets and towels. And what about cookware? And a TV? And a router so we can get our internet hooked up?) Sigh. It's been one thing after another with this whole move, but that's just how it goes with a relocation out of the continental U.S. -- and that's just part of being an Air Force family.

On the plus side, we did take in some pretty Hawaii scenery this week, and we went to our favorite beach on the North Shore to collect sea glass. The photo above is from our drive around the southeast side of the island Saturday. Lanai Lookout is one of three scenic pull-offs along the south shore and it's always stunning. There are several more photos on Instagram of our first week and a half back in Hawaii if you're interested!

Reading: I didn't get a whole lot of reading done this week. I finished my advance-read copy of "June" by Miranda Beverly-Whittemore (which came out a week ago) and started another ARC, "Lily and the Octopus" (out tomorrow). "June" was excellent; I gave it 4.5 stars and I'm working on my review. The characters, the setting and the story -- which takes place in 1955 and 2015 -- were all spot-on. "Lily and the Octopus," a story about a man and his dog, is cute and quirky and sad, but I'm not nearly as enthralled as I was reading "June" -- at least not so far. Next up is another ARC from NetGalley, "The Wolf Road" by Beth Lewis, which comes out in July.

Eating: After nearly two weeks of living out of a hotel, Jarrod and I are most definitely getting tired of eating out twice a day, every day. Everything is just so heavy and rich -- which is awesome in moderation, but not so awesome every. single. day! On the flip side, though, we've been working our way through all our favorite restaurants from when we lived here three years ago, and everything has been pretty damn tasty.

One new-to-me thing was this amazing dragonfruit margarita! (And yes, that is the actual color of dragonfruit -- it's so gorgeous!) This weekend I got my first boba drink (my favorite flavor, purple yam and sweet coconut) since we've been back, which was a treat. I couldn't ever find a good bubble tea place in Ohio. I also tried my first-ever Moscow Mule, which was delicious! I'm definitely going to have to find a good recipe to make them at home -- and possibly purchase some of those fun copper mugs!

Watching: "The Revenant," which I really liked. I loved the stunning scenery, the beautiful cinematography and the simple but intense story. We also finished the first half of season 2 of "Fear the Walking Dead." It was ok, but I'm still not nearly as into the story or the characters as I am with the original show.

Blogging: On a total whim (Jarrod was at an in-processing appointment and I had some time to kill) I put together my first ever monthly recap on the blog. I'm hoping to fine-tune it (and come up with a better name) and make it a regular feature!

Looking forward to: Same as last week -- getting a house, getting our household goods delivered and getting settled in!

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I'm linking up with Kathryn from Book Date for It's Monday! What Are You Reading?