THE ORIGINAL Double Infinity Bracelet with birthstones by SimplyLeilani (54.00 USD) http://ift.tt/1i9Lb5K

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Procured some sea glass from the UK. :)

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On the bench today: an anniversary gift going to the Virgin Islands! #beachlife

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How Asians do fro yo. #hawaiistyle

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My trusty assistant.

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Ready for polishing! I think my brother found this one. It’s so cute!

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My daughter’s pick at the library…

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Found this little guy while beach combing. I think he’s looking for spring too!

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Gigantic piece of beach glass, found by my uncle.

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Yemeni picture agate with cross. Struggling to find the right lighting capture the beauty of these stones.

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A funny picture fromour last trip to the Norfolk Zoo. Might be time for another visit.

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Qurum Beach (Muscat, Oman) shell jewelry by Simply Leilani. Simply Leilani creates beach inspired artisan jewelry made by hand, using mixed media and techniques ranging from traditional Japanese arts to silversmithing. All designs are original and produced as one of a kind or very limited edition runs.

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Happy New Year! May 2014 be full of blessings and joy!

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Beach Combing, Sea Glass, and Wire Wrapping

My mom and grandma (her mom) went beach combing for me a couple of weeks ago, and came back with almost a gallon of beach glass. I guess it helps to know where to go because there is NOWHERE on Oahu where you could pick up this kind of glass in only half an hour.  (Yes, the colors really are that bright, but they did sort the glass by color.)

Here are some of the larger pieces my son found.  Too large for jewelry but supercool for collectors.

Naturally, I had to make SOMETHING out of the beach glass... (you seem shocked!)  Rather than mess with drilling holes in the glass (many of these pieces are VERY thick and old), I decided to make some simple pendants... some are wire-wrapped, and others have a glued on bail.  Each is truly one of a kind and quite beautiful, don't you think?  Just goes to show you that one man's trash is a crafty woman's treasure!

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Caleta Cifuncho

I think most of my friends already know this, but my first ship ran aground.  Hard.  As in, stuck on a mountain in a foreign country, needed to ballast, wait for high tide, and get a tow boat...  I guess the good thing is we weren't stuck on the reef outside of Waikiki in view of our home port and wrecking the coral reef for days.  Not that it was a fun time by any stretch of the imagination, but definitely a learning experience that I am grateful for.  Then again, it's easy to feel thankful when the entire crew somehow made it through unscathed.

LMC in Cifuncho Bay

Considering the damage sustained by the ship, it is a miracle that no one was seriously injured and a true testament to the crew that she didn't sink.  Trust me.  I spent hundreds of hours learning every tank, valve, and piece of engineering equipment on that rust bucket.  People gave me lots of shit about how badly the ship was damaged and I laughed along because I didn't want to argue with someone who wasn't there, but the truth is, it's really not funny if you know how close we actually were to sustaining catastrophic personnel casualties.  It feels odd to say that was over a decade ago.  I can't get over how young we were back then.

Us, on the LMC, in Cifuncho Bay

Exactly one month after we ran aground, the USS Cole was attacked.   They were not as fortunate.  I've met people with permanent head and other injuries, unable to return to serving at sea due to the attack... and they considered themselves lucky compared to those shipmates who didn't make it.  
Sometimes it seems like life is pretty random.  I used to feel extremely guilty about the fact that we didn't lose a single person when the Cole lost so many.  But as the years have gone by, that guilt is mostly replaced by gratitude.  Not because they were in harm's way and we weren't, but because we have all learned so much from their experience.  (And to a lesser degree, folks have learned from ours, although we are mostly a tale of what not to do.)

LMC the following year.  Target practice.

When we were stranded in Cifuncho Bay, we thought that was more or less the worst thing that could happen in the Navy.  9/11 occurred one day shy of the anniversary of the LMC grounding.  By then, we'd all moved on to new assignments and I was on a completely different ship in a completely different capacity, suddenly getting ready as fast as we could to deploy when the call came.  Our expectations and perspective changed dramatically.   Now, I look back at those pictures in Cifuncho and smile wistfully because it all seems so innocent compared to what lay ahead.

Remembering the lessons of the past is not the same as living in the past.  Sometimes mistakes don't erase very cleanly, but that's okay too.  We choose to be thankful or resentful for where life takes us. 

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The Navy Hymn

   Eternal Father, Strong to save,
  Whose arm hath bound the restless wave,
  Who bid'st the mighty Ocean deep
  Its own appointed limits keep;
  O hear us when we cry to thee,
  for those in peril on the sea.

O Trinity of love and power!
  Our brethren shield in danger's hour;
  From rock and tempest, fire and foe,
  Protect them wheresoe'er they go;
  Thus evermore shall rise to Thee.
  Glad hymns of praise from land and sea.

And when at length her course is run,
   Her work for home and country done,
   Of all the souls that in her sailed
   Let not one life in thee have failed;
   But hear from heaven our sailor's cry,
   And grant eternal life on high!

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Hawaii with Kids: Ho'omaluhia Botanical Garden

Even when it pours for days on end, it's absolutely beautiful on the Windward side. These waterfalls appear only when it's been raining hard. Gorgeous, aren't they? Well every so often you see an idiot parked on the side of H-3 (where the speed limit is 60mph and most people are traveling at 75 or higher) in the POURING RAIN, trying to get a picture of it.  I also hear stories of folks walking through backyards, which is totally illegal.  Why risk life and limb when  you can get a MUCH better vantage point without breaking any traffic laws or trespassing?

Ordinarily, I am not a huge fan of botanical gardens... so I've actually ignored the signs pointing to Ho'omaluhia quite often.  The entrance is on Luluku Rd, which is very close to the Likelike and Kamehameha Hwy intersection.  If taking the H-3 from the Pearl Harbor side, take the Likelike exit, turn right on Anoi, and another right on Luluku.  If coming from Kailua or Kaneohe, take Kam Hwy toward the Likelike.  Turn Mauka (toward the mountain) at Ko'olau Farmers.  Luluku runs through some residential areas.  There are many brown signs to reassure you that you're going the right way.  Don't worry- if I can find it, anyone can.

Here is the view from the parking lot at the Visitor Center.  Can you believe this?  THE PARKING LOT!!!

There are art exhibits and some other things available at the Visitor Center.  Today, there happened to be a Bonsai class as well as a hula halau.  Behind the Visitor Center is a path to a man made lake.   (A dam was built by the Army Corps of Engineers to provide flood protection for Kailua and Kaneohe.)  There are tons of trails, but we saw lots of other families going toward the lake, so we followed.

Barely 5 minutes down the trail, we found a nice area where some families were feeding ducks.  Next time, we will definitely bring some stale bread!

This would also be a great area to picnic, and a family was having professional portraits taken. 

Lots of space to spread out and find your own spot, but bring your own snacks and drinks for sure!

If you keep walking around the lake, you'll come to an area where fishing is allowed on weekends.  (Catch and release from 10-2, no casting.)  We didn't make it quite that far this time (it's on the far side in this picture), but I think that sounds like a lot of fun too.

This time, we just sat and watched the ducks and fish.  

When it got too hot, we drove around the rest of the park.

There are several parking lots and each alcove of the park has a different "theme" in terms of which region the plants are from.  So you can see everything from introduced Polynesian plants to African plants. 

We saw about a dozen joggers/runners/walkers, two families camping, honeymooning tourists, and two artists painting (one was actually painting a portrait of the other artist painting the mountains).  There were folks sitting around playing music under a tree and several folks on "photo shoots." 

So, we will definitely be back, but next time with our picnic lunch, bread for the ducks, and fishing poles!!!

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Florida in Pictures: Magic Kingdom

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Stationed in Hawaii with Kids: Tips for Traveling with Kids by Air

As much as I love living in Hawaii, it is nice to get off the island and take the kids to do something different.   This year, we were fortunate enough to make two trips to the Mainland.  The first was San Diego in March (which you can read about here, here, and here).  The second was to visit some family in Florida.  Total travel time (door to door) in either direction ended up being roughly 20 hours.  

This was our 2 year old's first cross-country trip but my 12 year old has been back and forth 6 times (4 round trips prior to his 5th birthday!)  So, how do you make it there in one piece?  Here are my favorite tips for surviving long plane rides with small children.

1.  Travel as light as you can possibly stand to.  Trust me, it's just better this way.  Carry on snacks, diapers, wipes, a change of clothes for everyone, and some activities... if your luggage gets lost, there are stores where you're going.  If you want to carry on your car seat, fine, but you might want to make sure it fits through the xray machine at the passenger security screening station (or find out what happens if it doesn't fit).

2.  Feed the kids a full meal prior to getting on the plane (even if it's chicken mcnuggets) and pack snacks that are lower in sugar.  Sitting still is hard enough without the sugar rush and being quiet is hard enough without the sugar crash.  Yes, they even make sugar free chocolates.

2.  Bring a leak proof drink container.  You can fill it with something once you make it through security if you want to or wait until you get on the plane.  Try to avoid sugary drinks or cut them with water.  They do make disposable plastic cups with lids and straws.  The idea is to minimize spills so you don't have to change clothes.

3.  Let them run around at the airport while waiting for the plane.  Walk back and forth.  Run in circles.  Make new friends.  Anything.  Kids' brains are wired to need physical activity.  You can't be out of your seat and playing at the back of the plane like you may remember doing as a kid.  (You know, the whole post 9/11 security thing.) 

4.  Have a plan for keeping them occupied inflight.  Whether it's loading free tv shows on your iPod or a new coloring book, don't assume they'll fall asleep or watch the inflight movie.  Sometimes little ones can't see the screen, sometimes the features really aren't kid friendly.  Bring a favorite story.  I always make a trip to the dollar store and spend about $10 on cheapy new toys (card games, mini coloring books, small plastic figurines, stickers, temporary tatoos etc)  and wrap them all in several layers of off season tissue paper.  Then I break them out as needed.  The wrapping keeps them occupied for a few minutes.  If something gets left on the plane, no big deal.

Some of our favorite time killers on long plane rides:

• Mini Magna Doodle
• Color Wonder art kits (some are pretty small)
• Mad Libs
• Finger puppets
• miniature card games

Hopefully that helps get you started on figuring out your own game plan.    Traveling with kids isn't as hard as it seems.  Make it a positive experience for the kids and yourself with just a little bit of planning.

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Testing

The new camera has a panorama feature. Just testing it out to see how it messes with the blog layout.

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Doggie Triage - The Cone of Shame

Unfortunately, even with my super resourceful doggie bandage and diligent foot washing, it turns out (after two rather expensive trips to the vet that included x-rays, cultures, lancing, wound cleaning, and anesthesia) that my poor fur baby had an abcess. (We were never able to find a definitive wound or insect bite.)  Here he is, the giant in the back of my car... (BTW, the car is parked in this picture.)

And on our 2nd trip to the vet... poor guy.  Look how swollen his paw is.  Turns out the cracks I thought I saw in his pads were due to swelling, not the actual wounds causing the swelling.  The vet also wanted his x-rays sent out to a specialist for another 2nd opinion.

Here's a close up of the paw, prior to the vet putting him under and lancing/digging out the abcess.  He was not putting any weight on his paw at this point.

So anyway, she took him back, shaved his toe down, put him under, and dug out the abcess.  So it looks much worse now (it's draining as it heals from the "inside out), and he is now wearing the "cone of shame."  I'm just glad he doesn't have a broken toe.  The first visit took 2 hours, and two dogs were carried in (one having seizures, the other poisoned by a toad) as emergencies, so I had to leave him for a couple of hours and pick him up.  He was still groggy and disoriented when we got home.  Poor baby.

The good news is that although he is still knocking into all sorts of furniture with the cone (the dog is big, the house is small, do the math) he is placing weight on the foot again.  Of course, this has to occur days prior to a family vacation to the Mainland, meaning the dog is now on meds with an open wound on his foot and more than likely will have to be medically boarded at the vet instead of at the MWR kennel (which is a MUCH better deal).  So not only are we whacked with the vet bill, we are looking at more expensive boarding costs AND losing the deposit we put down at the MWR Kennel.  I am hoping the results of his culture (from the abcess) are in before we leave (so his meds/antibiotics will be set) and the MWR Kennel will still take him with the wound on his paw and cone of shame.    That's five calendar days.  Joy of joys.  I am washing his foot out with Betadine twice a day, along with all of his meds.

But this is my fur baby and I wouldn't want to worry about his foot getting infected again while we're gone... and so at the risk of sounding like one of those crazy people who treat their animals better than they treat other people, no expense will be spared... at least not yet. 

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