congrats T&H !!

Happy 11th anniversary today to my sister Theresa and her husband Heince!

We wish you a fun & romantic day! :-)

Love,

Susan, Sal, Buddy & Aruba

it's Heince's special day!

Happy birthday today to my sister's husband, Heince! He lives in Clearwater, Florida.

We wish you a day of happiness & smiles, Heince! :-)

Love,

Susan, Sal, Buddy & Aruba

a mixed-emotions-Monday

I got up early today (as usual) ... but this time I popped the TV on right away so that I could catch the debut of my fave scrapbooking designer, Heidi Swapp, on HSN !!

What fun ... Heidi was presenting one of her most gorgeous collections, Parisian Anthology. Didn't order it --- I already own it, LOL !!!

This is just the kind of happy distraction that I needed this morning because later today Buddy has a check-up at the cancer clinic. Always such a nervous time, my stomach is in knots! We're hoping and praying that he's still doing well.....

you had me at aloha

Time and life have just been flying by lately, what is going on? Days go by so fast that sometimes my head is spinning! But I'm back to (finally) blog some more about our Hawaiian journey a few months back, the middle third of our trip ... in Honolulu on the island of Oahu.

But first I want to send my thoughts and prayers to the people (and animals!) of Japan ... the suffering caused by the triple tragedies of earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear threat is unimaginable!! I was able to reach my friend Kyoko, in Tokyo, shortly after the earthquake, and she and her family are thankfully safe. But she tells me of the ongoing trauma there, including numerous daily aftershocks, and the emotional impact that the disaster is having on the residents of her country. Please know that so many of us around the world are sending our best to you, Japan!

Now to somehow transition to thoughts of paradise....


We began our visit to Hawaii on Maui (my February 3 post), then headed to Oahu for Sal to present his research at Pacifichem 2010 in Honolulu. It's a huge conference attended by about 12,000 chemists (!!!) from all over the Pacific Rim ... Japan, China, Korea, Fiji, Thailand, and many other countries ... it was very exciting and professionally rewarding for him!

And, with the conference being held in paradise, we of course got to enjoy the Land of Aloha all the while. We stayed at the Hilton Hawaiian Village ... it is indeed a "village", complete with restaurants & shops (like the adorable Blue Ginger boutique, where I loved browsing):


It's almost a little city within Honolulu, and is very "flip-flop-friendly" being right on a beautiful stretch of Waikiki Beach. Our room was way up on the 27th floor of the Rainbow Tower, with a breathtaking view of the Pacific Ocean and the Diamond Head volcano from our balcony:

Knowing that I'm in love with wearing leis while in Hawaii, Sal surprised me with a "lei-a-day" delivery to our room while we were in Honolulu! How sweet is that??? OMG, it was such a TREAT !!! Each morning, another of Sal's gorgeous "flower hugs" arrived, wrapped in a matching ribbon. I was such a HAPPY girl !!!!! And oh the scents ... fragrant plumeria, orchids, tuberose ... I wish my blog had a scratch-n-sniff option, LOL !!! No need for perfume when you're wearing a lei, that's for sure !! The final lei was red, green, and white since it was so close to Christmas Day. Thank you, sweetheart, for this extra special memory! I love you!

We didn't really go far from the resort, just did some walking around the city when Sal wasn't busy attending conference sessions. We've been to Oahu before, and on past visits we drove all around the island, enjoyed its stunning coastlines, visited the somber Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor, and saw the famous giant waves on the North Shore. So this time, we just enjoyed the beach and the resort amenities, relaxing. I found it comical to sometimes see chemists heading to the beach instead of toward the conference center ... I could tell because they were using their Pacifichem tote as a beach bag, LOL! ;-)


I had some fun with resort activities, like a lei-making class, where I learned to make a traditional lei, plus a gorgeous flower and fern wristlet (called a haku lei).

We made sure to enjoy breakfast at our favorite beachside restaurant in Honolulu, the Hau Tree Lanai. It's nestled beneath its namesake tree, and is literally at the edge of the sand. It's a special place for us ... it was the first place we dined the night we arrived in Hawaii for the first time back in 1998, and it was magical !! This time, I had coconut-mango pancakes (yum!) and (very fresh) pineapple, of course!


I didn't blog much while in Hawaii, in part because I wasn't feeling my best, fighting a cough the whole time, such a shame! This became my constant companion throughout Hawaii.....
So, as a coping mechanism (wink, wink), I booked an appointment at the Spa Halekulani just down the beach from our hotel. They had something on their treatment menu that seemed tailor-made for someone in my condition, Polynesian Steam Therapy ... a massage of the upper back/respiratory area that was accompanied by light steam to fight congestion. Ahhh...finally, some relief! Perfect Polynesian pampering in paradise! I remember feeling SO much better afterwards ... and walked back to our hotel along the beach under the Waikiki sun. But I cringed as I walked past the surfing lessons that I had planned to sign-up for, but was just too weak.....oh well, next time!



Another really fun thing about our resort was that they had LOTS of talented, live Hawaiian entertainment ... especially at night in the bars, but during the day, since it was the holiday season, they had kids from local schools putting on shows in the beautiful open-air lobby. I just had to share a clip (38 seconds) with you:

I absolutely love hula, it's one of my favorite types of dance to watch. Such an expressive and beautiful part of the Hawaiian culture! We enjoyed more hula during an evening show at the resort ... and Sal indulged me (again) by wearing our matching aloha wear for our evening out!

I'll be back soon to share the final leg of our Hawaiian journey, the Big Island of Hawaii.

Thanks for stopping by!

happy St. Patrick's Day!

May you live as long as you want,
And never want as long as you live.
----Irish blessing

Have a LUCKY day! :-)

it's Angie's special day!

Happy 15th birthday today to our niece, Angie! She lives in Gulfport, Florida.

Wishing you a day full of fun & happy memories, Angie! :-)

Love,

Aunt Susan, Uncle Sal, Buddy & Aruba

Atlanta was just peachy!

Hi all ~

Sal and I are back from a fun visit to Atlanta! Actually, we got back to FL over the weekend, but spent some time visiting with our families this week (since it's FAU's Spring Break!) before heading home. My Mom & I got to spend some time fabric shopping together (she sews & quilts wonderfully)!

I was so glad that Sal and I could travel to Atlanta together ... while he was presenting his incredible research at prestigious Emory University, I spent time with my friend Susan (yep, a pair of scrapbooking Susans!). She invited me up to Atlanta to attend classes by scrapbooking designer Teresa Collins and they were so fab! Each one was a mini-album, packed with her just-released collections ... they are stunning! Had a blast! :-) Here are some glimpses of the fun:

Teresa is all about bling (and you know that I am too!), and our project kits were chock full of her chic line of new "blingage" (love that name!). Even her stapler is blinged-out!

Several of my pals from past Creative Escape events were there too! It was great that Sal finally got to meet them, since he doesn't go to Arizona with me when I attend CE.....from left, Lisa, Sandra, Teresa (teacher), Cheryl, Susan & me:

After landing in ATL and before heading to our lovely hotel (the Wingate), the first thing Sal and I did was take a tour of CNN's world headquarters in downtown Atlanta. I love, love current events, so it was cool to see "behind-the-scenes" of news coverage, and to watch live TV in progress. It's a big, busy place with lots going on! TV monitors were hung everywhere in the building, even the food court, and were tuned to --- what else? --- CNN.

Sal and I had fun being a CNN "news anchor team", complete with mock "copy" to read:

And before our classes got underway, Susan took me to the famous Georgia Aquarium, the largest aquarium in the world with 8 million gallons of water! I especially loved learning more about their research, rehabilitation, and conservation efforts on behalf of animals.

(That's my Anna Griffin tote ... Anna's a southern girl from Atlanta and I love her sb'ing designs, so I just had to use HER bag while in Atlanta! (it was a perfect all-in-one: purse / airplane carry-on / scrapbook supply tote)

Susan and I also did our part to stimulate the Atlanta economy (LOL) by browsing sb stores that I don't have at home ... always fun! Archiver's, Hobby Lobby, and her local store, EMI Scrapbooking.

Susan ~ you were a terrific & gracious host and I had such a fun time with you, thanks again for your hospitality !! :-)

And what would a trip to Atlanta be without some Georgia peaches for breakfast, right? Yum!

Enjoy the weekend,