Monkey Pod

Thank you to KUMU and the Great Aloha Run Expo!!!  Mike played a game, spinned (spun?  spunned?) a wheel and won 4 free tickets to see the HTY Play Icarius vs the Minotaur.  We did what any parents would do and sent the kids to the play with grandma and grandpa!!!

It meant that we had a rare few hours to ourselves.  I had been wanting to take Mike to Monkey Pod since enjoying some time there with friends and so we donned our duds and rushed out to Ko'olina to make it to Happy Hour.

During Happy Hour most of the appetizers are 50% off and there are specials on drinks and pizzas.  Since I am not drinking I ordered a Diet Coke while the mister ordered every appetizer on the menu (aside from the humus) and some pizza with a names that sounded like the Proletariat.

While we waited for our food we listened to some awesome live music (live music is one of my most favorite things ever), and enjoyed the "quiet" and "marcha" of the resort town.  There were many happy tourists, and large groups enjoying happy hour. So many groups, in fact, that we ended up running into my classmates, and my teacher friends also enjoying the food.

Our first dish was the pizza and although it had a lot of oil on it it was delicious!  The crust was nice and crispy and I loved the sausage, pepperoni, and kalamata olives.  Everything else came next, including the butternut squash ravioli that I had refused to try the last time I dined here (I am not a fan of squash at all).  Anyhow, the food was delicious and I especially loved the shrimp dish, the ravioli, and of course the fries.

We ended up skipping the 9 dollar pies and headed home to meet the kids soon after we were done eating.  But not before picking up some ice cream at Safeway.

It was a nice night of stolen moments for adult time. So very thankful for this little slice of heaven.

Angels Softball

And softball season has begun!!!!  Our game last week got rained out so today's game was a little bit of an anti-climactic start, especially since the field was wet and we didn't get to play on a softball diamond.  Nevertheless, it was the first game of our new team and we didn't know what to expect.  It was at least half of the team's first game and with many rained out practices we didn't have too much time to get the girls ready.  With the girls ranging from age 5-9 it was a bit nerve wracking for everyone.

Ok, so maybe it was only nerve-wracking for us parents because the girls ended up kicking some booootie!!!  It was fun watching them hit, run, score, field balls, throw people out, smile, high five, cheer, build bonds.  I was especially proud of my little girl since I have been talking to her a lot about stepping up into a leadership role.  D really surprised me today and watching her play pitcher brought me back to my own mini sox days and the friends I made many years ago on "Imua."

So, a shout out to the Angels who worked really hard today and made us all so super proud.  It is going to be a fun season and I am looking forward to many years to come with this amazing group of softball players!!!

Run streak day 800!

3.6.2014 marked another milestone. Day 800 of my run streak so I did what any self-respecting streaker would do and put on my favorite Lululemon shorts (Unicorn Tears Speed Shorts) and ran 8 miles in 80 minutes.  :) Next?

Lululemon's Couples That Sweat!

For Valentine's Day the hubs and I entered Lululemon Ala Moana's Couples that Sweat Contest.  I submitted our photo and story:

Mike and I met in 1987 in Mr. Matsunaga’s Geometry class at Iolani School.  Our seats were arranged in alphabetical order so we had to sit next to one another.  In the afternoons we’d practice on the same field; he with the football team and me on the soccer team.  It took us many many years to finally get married but here we are 27 years later married with two kids.

We trained for and ran our first Honolulu Marathon in 2012 and ran our second together in 2013.  We love our evening runs, love to run races and also enjoy hiking, golfing, competing, and coaching our kids’ baseball, softball, basketball and soccer teams. 

The contest consisted of getting the most "likes on your picture.  Thanks to some awesome friends we won the contest and were invited to Lululemon to each pick out a new outfit.  Here's what we chose!!

Girl's Day!

Happy Girl's Day to my favorite little girl, Ms. D!!!  She's a spunky, tough, thoughtful little girl that I love to pieces!!!!!

Most little girls get dolls on this day so I hope she loves the Lego Friends that I bought her (no, I could not resist).  I think with the addition of Emma's Stage (?) there are only a few more sets she needs from this year and they are the BIG ones like the cruise ship, stable, and school.  Sorry bunny, mommy can't get you those. I do love you though!!

:)

Noodle Night!!

With the cold rainy weather it was time for NOODLE NIGHT! I got the idea from my BFF Darien who made Noodles for our annual Part Ham Mostly Bologne gathering in December.  I got the info from her regarding the soup base she used (available at Don Quijote and Marukai) and also got advice from her and my buddy Teresa on what to add into my won ton.  Ms Dannika the chef helped prepare the meal and it was a huge success!! Adding it into our rotation.  A big thanks to everyone on FB who also gave ideas on what to throw into our saimin!!!

Hawaii Pacific Health Alliance Women's 10K 3.2.2014

The Hawaii Pacific Health Alliance Women's 10K is in its 37th year and can you believe that some women have run all of the races?  This year was my 3rd time running and it's a race that I enjoy.  There's just something about races specifically made for women and it's awesome to see women of all ages enjoying their time on the pavement!!!

I really hope to be able to run this race with my daughter in the very near future.

The forecast for the weekend was rain (no surprise) so I planned accordingly with cap instead of visor to keep my head dry, old shoes vs new shoes, and body glide on my feet with Feetures socks.  I used to despise running in the rain but after doing the Hapalua I tolerate it when I have to.

I got to Kapiolani Park early and waited for J.  Our plan was to run the race at an easy pace then run 6 more miles afterwards to hit 12 miles for our North Shore Marathon.  I was definitely nervous as I have been unable to get mentally "up" for training and hadn't hit more than 10 since the Honolulu Marathon.

Last month's Great Aloha Run was a wake up call for me so I cooked my normal pre-race pasta dish of pasta, spinach, chicken and spinach/asparagus (similar to the dish I normally get at Bravo's).  I also  got into bed early and tried to hydrate as much as possible.  Since I bonked so early during the GAR I also made sure to start eating my shot bloks earlier.

The run ended up being nice and pleasant. I had to dodge many puddles and the ascend up Diamond Head wasn't as easy in runs past but I was able to maintain a 9:30 pace without much trouble.  At the 5K mark I thought to myself, "10K, what a nice distance, I only have 3 miles left, maybe I should stick to 10K races from now on!" I know I won't but really, 10K is such a nice distance!!!!  I ascended Diamond Head again via Kahala with a good pace, passed as many people as I could and headed to the finish knowing that this was the slowest 10K I had ever run but feeling confident about running more afterwards.

At the finish line I collected my yellow rose to match my yellow skirt as well as the other goodies available. I tun met up with J, we put our things in our car and set off to log 6 more miles.

The training run started off slow as our legs had cooled down a bit and I got splashed by a car speeding through puddles but it was so nice to run and talk with my friend about anything and everything.  The time went by so fast and so easy and I didn't even have to think about the miles.  We easily completed 7 more miles for a total of 13 and called it a day.  :) So happy to be back in training!!!!  Thank you J for the therapy and company!  I can't wait to run again next Sunday!!!