It’s been awhile, yes. I know. It’s all for good reason though! We moved! We live significantly closer to post now and the house is SO much nicer than where we were. And best yet: we pay $200 less every month for rent, have a fenced in yard, air conditioning, and no bugs! I’m already so much happier here than I was at the last place!

This does mean I’ve fallen off the wagon working out wise. As soon as I get my house settled, I WILL be back on. Even with my PMS/PMDD bloat, I’m down to 148! It’s a step. Not near my goal, but a little bit is a good start.  Stress has had a lot to do with the weight gain. I’ve cleaned out my closet and dresser and realized my weight is unacceptable! I have only my “fat” jeans that still fit and they are a bit tight. I think if I got back in shape, I’d not only feel better about myself, but I would also be able to fit back in to my normal jeans.  I’m basically just sick of feeling fat. It’s really annoying and something needs to be done. After cleaning out my drawers and not being able to fit into shorts I JUST bought a few months back, I realize the need is definitely there.  Now that I am in a better place mentally, I feel like I can relax and start working on me.  Better news still, there’s a lot more jobs in this area that I should have a shot at.  I’m significantly more positive and we’ve only been here about two weeks. Finding my house is an absolute nightmare. We have a lot of stuff and I’ve unpacked as much as I want to. I know I need to get things finished so we can function, but ugh, it’s frustrating. There’s still some fragile stuff that I don’t trust my cats not to knock over.

Otherwise, finding a routine is the biggest thing. Poor Audie struggles every time we leave the house for too long. My lovely felines have also decided they want to explore outside. This is unacceptable. Jack escaped like the third night we were here and I thought he was gone for good. I was devastated. He came home a few hours later, scared as I was.  Then a few days later, he ran out the door when I was letting Audie in and Hina followed.  The Mister had to chase them around the house to get them to come back in. I don’t know why they thought it was a good plan. They’ve never been outdoor kitties and I would never let them roam–we’re WAY too close to a major highway and I’ve lost a furry friend to the road in my recent past. I honestly cannot fathom what I would do if I lost any of my furkids like that again. I’m way too attached.

Other than that, we haven’t done a whole lot in regards to exploring our new area. We did go to the floating lantern ceremony over memorial day.

 It was beautiful and I hope to go again. 50 thousand people attended and over 6 thousand lanterns were released. It was so solemn and I wanted to feel that same closeness with my lost loved ones.I think my great grandmother, grandmother, and grandpa would have loved to see the ceremony. I know they would have appreciated a lantern. I still have a long list of places I want to see on Oahu before I get off this rock so I’m hoping to add some weekend excursions soon. We’ve also celebrated both our one year wedding anniversary and our one year on the island anniversary.

I have no idea where that last year went. I feel like all I’ve done in the last year is worry about the budget, clean up after the bugs, and get by as best we can.  That’s no way to experience life!Time to get back to the exploring. I miss it.

I apologize for the broken babble. I’m trying to catch up on all the stuff I’ve left out in my absence….but it’s not working well.

Until next time (and I hope it isn’t such a long absence),

Cheers!

-A. xoxo