AMBER WAVES OF...

The Gulf of Mexico

Here it is folks.  The reality of the impact of the spill.  Right there.  In front of you.  Just open your eyes and look.

I got this pic from my nephew's facebook site.  His caption?  "no caption needed".

Indeed.

It's incredible to me that the real impact of the latest oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is lost on most people.

This isn't something money can fix.

This isn't something to "recover" from.

The loses to the ocean - and ourselves - will be devasting in the long run.

The fisheries are dead.  Those jobs are gone, people. Get a clue!

Just look at the leading edge of that breaking wave up there...no air bubbles at all...seems like there is no aeration going on there anymore - cleanup should help that, but I'm just pointing it out.  No air means a lot to the things that need it to thrive and live...

The Gulf as we knew it, will be gone for generations.

And you know, people will stand in lines - actually and figuratively - with their hands out demanding money to make them 'better'.

Good luck with that...there is no 'better' here...

there's 'different' as in 'find a different job, 'cause fishing in the Gulf isn't happening for a good, long time",

"find a different place to live"

"find a different place to swim"

"the ocean looks "different" here".

And the oil?

It's just a part of the problem.  What about all the chemicals they poured into the ocean to disappate the oil?  To make it sink or break up? To disappear? 

Because, we ALL KNOW, if you can't SEE it, it's not there, right?

Now, I know that there are those people out there that will look at this and think "crazy, fish hugging, ocean loving ecology freak!".  And, thinking about it, I suppose that's true to some extent.  However late, I came to the conclusion that I have responsibility in things like this.  I drive cars, I use oil, I look the other way when our government sells out to the big corporations that profit from our natural resources while abusing the very nature that provided it.

This wasn't a surprise to anyone that was paying attention folks.  BP (and not just BP, really) had ignored orders to make things safer.  They built things on the cheap, and then didn't do anything when they were warned of the dangers.  Scoffed at the 'environmentalists" that cried about disaster and death and a dimished world. 

But they had help in ignoring their responsibilities.

BP didn't do this alone. Their greed and lack of concern for the earth and the oceans - and everything that lives and breathes and exists on this planet - is on them...

But...who let them do it? It was us...all of us...

We all - every one of us - let this happen. 

We allowed our government to prostitute our shorelines.  We consume oil as if it's something that will last forever.  As if we can take it without any concern or consequence.  Because oil is a huge, wealthy, influencial lobby in a government that respects the almighty dollar (not so mighty, anymore, btw, but that's an entirely different rant), and holds those who control the dollar in high esteem.  Mostly, it's because they are hopeful that some of those dollars will fall their way.  Corporate America - Global Corporations - is really the government, and we all know that too.

But I digress...

So, now...we all have to stop standing around waiting for someone else to fix this.  There's no fixing it.  All we can try to do here is to mitigate the damage our species has rendered. 

Stop pointing fingers.  Stop thinking that ANY amount of money BP throws at this will make any real difference at all. 

This is a big deal, folks.  And the only way to change anything is to do it yourself.

I'm looking around and wondering where to start.  Not easy, considering how much I love my cars...but I'm looking, and I'm determined to do more than expect anyone else to do it.

Sadly, the only thing that will most likely "save" the earth is if all the humans become extinct.
 
I'm just saying...

The Tropical Plantation

Aloha Mainlanders!

Yesterday, it was pretty windy here on the west side, so we opted for a tour of a tropical plantation.

Bubby loved the tram ride (for the most part), and it was actually a LOT more interesting that I thought it would be.  You see, I'd gone along mostly to take pictures - of who else? - but it ended up being a lot of fun, mostly due to the great tour guide we had.

There were a lot of different things growing at the plantation...coffee, guava, mango, banana, cocoanut, flowers, ducks, fish ;) 

Banana palms only have one flower a year...and it produces one bunch of bananas from that flower. 

Husking a cocoanut

Listening to Leilani talk about the right way to husk a cocoanut.

mmmmmmmm....fresh cocoanut

Spencer had a pretty good time with the tram ride, although it was much better if the tram kept going.  ;)

After the ride, he got to feed the ducks and fish too.  A pretty big hit with our boy.

At one point, it looked like the ducks were walking across the fish in the pond.

Here are some pics of the interesting flowers and things around the plantation too...

I have no idea what this is, but it's kinda cool.

This one almost looked like flames....

Bougainvillea hedges are great for keeping neighbors at bay..they are thick and have stickers!  Better yet, the more you ignore them, the better they do...just need a trim from time to time.

Artsy shot with a windmill in the background.

Mangoes.

More artsy.  I don't know what this is, but it was about 8' tall and looked kinda like dill...

Sugar cane - it takes one full cane stalk to make a teaspoon of sugar.  I was a little surprised.

Going to check out the scenery with Auntie.

Mandatory tiki.  :D

So...I shot nearly 1000 photos at the plantation.  It's because I dual shot in Camera Raw (CR2) and jpeg because Photoshop doesn't have a CR2 plugin that works, and I didn't know that.  If I just shot CR2, I couldn't edit/post, and if I just shot jpeg, I'd lose too much with the photos I'm shooting.  Soooooooo, long story short (or shortER, lol) is that I have to go get an external disk to move and download my photos to, or I'm sunk as far as anything more...yay?  Keep your fingers crossed that I can find one that will work and won't take all my vacation money.  LOL.

We are having a great time...hope you are too....

Aloha!

M and G

A Day at The Beach

Yesterday, we spent a great day at the beach.

Kapalua of course...our favorite beach on Maui.

It was even more amazing to see it all through Bubby's eyes.

He's such a joy...I can't even really express how blessed I feel to have him here.  

Anyway....

Beach day.

Here's our "campsite".  We did an excellent job of beach contracting. =P

Spencer was in awe of the ocean...had a good long stare at it...very serious....and then he sat down to a nice morning of building castles in the sand.

Later on, we explored the beach and found a hermit crab - one that was very interesting indeed.  We also played hard running along the beach and letting the waves run up over our feet.  Good times.

Spencer even went for a little swim with his Nana.  His very first time in the ocean.  He loved it.

Today, we are planning to do some sightseeing and swimming.

Good Times Indeed!

Aloha!

M&G

Aloha and Good Morning

Aloha (or as my Bubby says....Haha).


I know..it's been a while since I've been blogging.  For some reason, life's been busy lately.  


Busy, but good.




And now, as I sit outside on the lanai, watching the island slowly awaken, I have a bit of time to check in and update y'all on what's what with Magic and Goofy.  :)

At the moment it's quiet and peaceful here.  Mostly that's because out little angel is still sound asleep.  lol.  We all thought he'd be the one waking us up this morning - especially since his little internal clock still thinks it's 3 hours later - but NO!  We are all up and making coffee and setting up internet routers while he snoozes away.  


Adorable!

Anyway...we've arrived safe and sound on our island - home again after too many months away.




I'll try to be good about posting things as we discover them anew with our little guy.  We are all so excited to be here with him - seeing things through his eyes - it's going to be a great trip!

Talk soon...


Aloha!


M&G

Birthday months and Bubby boys

So...it is, once again, my BIRTHDAY MONTH!

I would think that by now, most of y'all would understand the theory and application of birthday month, so I won't go into it again...

but ...

IT
IS
MY
BIRTH
DAY
MONTH!

And having had to get up for some reason in the middle of the night, this year's birthday month was claimed a mere minutes after the clock passed midnight...hehe.  Gotta call it to start it, so I did.

Goofy wasn't too happy to be awakened to "IT'S MY BIRTHDAY MONTH!!!! Bwahahahaha...only lost 7 minutes of birthday monthitude!!!! " being shouted at just after 12am on April 1, but she survived....after she said, "for crying out loud (or something like that)...it's the middle of the night!  go to SLEEP! "  hehe.

This year's fabulous Springtime Festivities started out with tribute to Magic in the form of a box of blue marshmallow bunnehs!  They weren't quite "ready' - needed to be exposed to the fresh air of the world  - in order to be a bit stale for the peeps enthusiast, there is no other way to have them you see...  ;)  But..they were perfect and blue, and well...peeps!

This got me to thinking...why haven't we instituted the "give magic a present on every day of birthday month"?  I think that this precedent setting gift...tribute to the very idea of magic and birthdays and months of celebration and praise...did exactly that.

The very next day, more tribute from friends that we joined for dinner in Kirkland...I was quite happy and touched with this sudden realization that Magic's birthday month brought out this recognition of the greatness of the month of the birth of MAGIC!  So nice to make so many people so happy just by being MEEEE.  :D  It's a responsibility, but hey! I'm ok with it.

So far, there has been some gift every day...not necessarily in the common sense of gifts (although there have been those too), but gifts in the sense that I took the time to recognize the gifts that are around us everyday.

I knooooow...you are saying to yourself just about now..."Hey, Magic!  what gives?  where is this existential claptrap coming from? ".  And you'd be somewhat forgiven for having had that thought...but honestly, I've been looking for my "happy" every day for quite some time now.

Initially, it was less intentional...just trying to get past the everyday negative stuff that seems to swirl around these days, while maintaining some semblance of happiness...then, one day, it dawned on me that I didn't have to give into it.  So now...I LOOK for the happy...every day.

This isn't to say that some days it's just really hard to find a happy thing to recall about that particular day, but, honestly, in general, it isn't particularly hard at all.  :)

For instance, after the lovely bunnehs, I had a wonderful "happy" just this past Saturday when I got to spend some time with my smaller mini me (aka mini-mini me) when he ventured for the first time into a swimming pool.

He was cold, and he was a tiny bit tentative at first, but he stayed in there...getting his face wet, dunking a bit, and riding around on his mama without fear.  All in all, a very very good first time in the pool.  By the time we get to Maui, I expect he'll be a bit more comfortable in the water, and we'll be less concerned that he may get hurt.  ;)

On another note...I am wondering why my birthday isn't a national holiday yet?

I'm thinking that if enough of us just take the day off...Magic Day... then, eventually, it'll catch on.

This year, the actual day falls on a Monday, so even more reason to join the celebration and stay home!  Come on!  Show your appreciation and take the day off for Magic!  ;)

Has kinda a nice ring to it, dontcha think?  =P

Just sayin'

;)

Magic (well, and Goofy too...).

I do believe hell hath frozen over, btw...

This weekend, a few good friends came over to visit and play with various "crafty" machines that Goofy has.

It was fun, but it was also monumental.

My little sis (kleach), finally agreed to come along on a Hawaiian vacation with Magic and Goofy.

I KNOW!  Right?  Hell.  Frozen.  Over!

Mini Me is going tooooooo!

Magic is extremely excited to have not one, but TWO mini me's along.  Not only Mini Me, but Mini Mini Me.

Can you imagine the bounciness derived from such fortune?  The pure joy of three of me in Hawaii at the same time?  Someone should be paying US to be there really. 

We are great one by one...but together? 

All THREE?  At.  The.  Same.  Time?  The definition of awesome, really.  (go ahead, look it up, we'll wait ;)) 

Gracing the world with our awesomness and generally "happy to be together" aura of life-itude?

OMG is all I can think to say...

So...to Hell with hell freezing over...we are heading to Maui with the peeps, y'all.

Stand back and bask in the awesome glow of happiness.

Just sayin'

Monday, Monday...

Hellooooooooo

or, oooooooHell  :)

Long weekend for magic...went to see my friendly neighborhood doc, and yay!  I have infection in not one, but both ears as well as my sinuses.  Can you imagine being so very lucky?  I hadn't gone in for either of those - as they were minor annoyances compared to my incredibly sore throat - but the ears and nose were of much more interest to the doc and goofy.

Goofy looked up my nose.  Ewwww.  Well, it's kinda doc's fault.  He left us un-supervised in his exam room with all his fun toys!  So, we looked up noses and down throats..."someone" was too chicken to look in ears, so magic hasn't seen into a non-infected ear yet.  (boo).

I went home with a nice shiny scrip for antibiotics, cures for antibiotics, inhalers and cough meds.  The inhaler and cough meds are for the (still) lingering cough that seems happily ensconsed where it is.  I did avoid the nasty tasting cough syrup, opting, instead for the more convenient pills.  I do not care what anyone says...that cough syrup is NASTY tasting. 

So...sigh...that's about where things stand.

Woohoo!

just sayin'

Sick and Tired

Well, yay.

I'm sick again.

I know that having the flu (twice) and pneumonia (only once, thank goodness), makes me more susceptible to whatever bugs come wandering by, but dammit!, I am so sick and tired of being sick and tired.

This time, it's a bad sore throat, cough (well, that's pretty much status quo still), headache and fever.

It's the fever that keeps me isolated at home.  I won't go in to the office and "share", and while I'm spiking fevers, I'm brewing bugs.

I wish others would stay home when they are sick, but I guess it's hard sometimes - like when you don't have sick leave, and the bills are still needing to be paid.  I get that too.  And really, I'm just more likely to get things in my immune compromised state.  The old lungs are still trying to recover, and in the best of circumstances that takes a few months.  I wonder how far back I'm being set with all the extra colds and coughs.

Anyway...I'm cranky, and tired, and sore from coughing...

Wahhhhhh.

This too shall pass, I'm just so sick and tired of being sick and tired...

Just sayin'

Ahhhhhhh....Frrrrriiiiiiidayyyy....finally.

It's been one of those weeks...

Good and not so much.  Mostly good though.  Occasionally great...but not so much as to tip it on over to a great week.  ;)

Nothing of huge import...nothing life changing...just the same old stuff.

It's been a long week...one that I'm happy to be through.

And it's Friday.  Always a good day...

You see, Friday is the day before "sleep in" Saturday.

Friday is the day at work when things are winding down.  People are often off on Fridays, so it's quieter and things get done.  Friday is...well...awesome I suppose.

And tomorrow, my friend...is Saturday.  A good day indeed.

So, have a good one.  Celebrate the Saturday...take a moment to remember the joy of the day...simply for the fact that it's S A T U R D A Y! ! ! ! !

(yay).

just sayin'

;)

It's a long way to Tipperary

LOL.  I really have no idea what I mean by that.  Just came to my mind and out through my fingertips.

It's - once again - been a very long time since I've been here. 

Mostly it's because of the nastiness that is called H1N1 - swine flu, the OINK, etc.

Both goofy and I came down with that in late November - yes, right in time for hosting the family's Thanksgiving dinner.

Then there was a slight reprieve where we both thought that we were over and done with the nasty flu...and then BANG!  Back again in spades.

I ended up getting two really bad brochial infections - the second turning into pneumonia that sent me to bed for a week.

So, there ya have some of the reason I've been absent...I'll logon a bit later for more.

TTFN!

magic