I couldn't agree more!!!!

Great article!

CNN Commentary: You can't take Christ out of Christmas

Random Pics for the Day

Probably not a good combo....

YAY! More Marci Pics! Isn't she the cutest & growing so fast!
She is a whole 7 lbs now!

I can haz politician?

I will hug him & squeeze him & call him george.

How kans you not luvs me?

Hana Hou!

One of the special things about staying at the KBH in Maui is there is a FREE nightly Hawaiian music and hula show. The band that plays is the Lanui Band and is fronted by the great Rudy Aquino. His wife and daughter participate in the hula show. We enjoyed them so much & couldn't wait to see them again on this past trip. Unfortunately, because the first half of our trip was stormy, there was no nightly show. But finally, when it all cleared we go to see the show. It was great! He played some popular Hawaiian songs and even some Christmas songs, including "Mele Kalikimaka" and an humorous Hawaiian version of the 12 days of Christmas. And much to Hubby & my delight, especially since this trip was my grad gift/early anniversary gift, Rudy and gang played a lovely version of our wedding song, "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" (we danced to an acoustic version on Kapalua beach at our wedding & to IZ's version at our H-town reception). I got part of it on video. I wish I had taped all of it, especially since Rudy told Hubby & I that this was his last year playing at the KBH. :( He bought property in the Cook Islands and will be moving there soon. I guess we'll have to stalk him & take a vacation there sometime to watch him play again. He made it sound like a great place to visit, as it is similar to Hawaii. Rudy will definitely be missed in Maui!



And I found their hula show on YT, but it isn't Rudy singing that night.

Weekly Words Challenge

This week's WWC words supplied by Tink over at Pickled Beef are WHITE and LIFE.

Hubby's white MINI Cooper S

White seafoam of Maui

My white coat ceremony when I started PA school

Pretty white flower

Hawaiian life
















Hawaiian Honu

My nephew the day he was born

The words for next week are: Tradition and Pink

Because of the holiday, the pictures for next week won't be due until Wednesday.

If you haven't joined the fun, go here for details.

Thanks for the Memories!

These past 2.5 years have been full of a lot of studying and stress and hard times, Blood (not mine but...well...you know), Sweat & Tears, but we managed to fit some fun in there. I have made some great friends and created a lot of great memories. We went through A LOT together & I think we will forever remember that. I will forever be grateful for the friends I have made. They have definitely helped make PA school an enjoyable experience. I truly hope we stay in touch! Thanks guys! Much love & hugs to you!

Thanks for the memories!

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"The Eyes of Texas are Upon You...."

That was sung, in UT tradition, at my graduation Friday night.

Here is a nice message my Mom wrote on our (private) family blog:

"Almost as soon as she got off the plane from Hawaii, Alli graduated last night from UTMB Galveston. She was awarded two honor's society awards and an award for best power point presentation for final research project. The commencement speaker, from Chicago, mentioned that this class was the most diverse, ethnically, of any she had seen, and that the "persona" of this class was just a huge HEART! They were encouraged to remember, first: social justice, and second: those who could- please! go into teaching, since they are expecting a huge shortage in this profession... Hopefully, she will post the pic of herself at the microphone from the banquet the night before. When I first saw it, I thought she had been invited to sing. ("and now a short song by our very own Alli....") Alli said that would not be likely. Happy/sad times as the class realized after all the hard times they went through together, most will never see each other again as they spread out around the country. Then we were off to the Hotel Galvez for dinner. ummmmmm good. [Hubby] is glad to have his wife back. (of course the next three weeks will be hard core studying for her boards.) Then a month or so waiting for certification, which means the job might not start until early March, she was told."

Thanks for the nice post, Mom!

It has been a busy week and half: graduation trip to Maui (read about it here), breakfast with the faculty Thursday morning (this is where I was awarded with best master's research platform & inducted into the Alpha Eta Honor Society and the Pi Alpha Honor Society), then our graduation banquet Thursday night at the Downtown Club in Houston, and finally graduation Friday late afternoon finished with that delicious dinner with Hubby, Mom, & Dad at the historic Hotel Galvez in Galveston.

It's been a busy 2.5 years with a lot of hard work, a lot of stress, and also a lot of great times and great memories. I have a learned a great deal, and yet this is just the beginning of my education as a physician assistant. I have a lifetime of learning ahead of me & I am excited about it. Also, as Mom said, the next few weeks will be full of crazy studying for my board exam and hopefully will be working by February or March at UTMDACC. So, I can't exhale just yet.

It's been a blast & I am greatly looking forward to what my future as a PA holds for me....

More graduation pics here.
Banquet pics here.

Mele Kalikimaka is the thing to say....

.......On a bright Hawaiian Christmas Day,

That's the island greeting that we send to you

From the land where palm trees sway,

Here we know that Christmas will be green and bright,

The sun to shine by day and all the stars at night,

Mele Kalikimaka is Hawaii's way To say "Merry Christmas to you."

It was interesting to be in Hawaii during Christmas time. It's kinda funny to see Christmas decorations in a place that is so tropical. We heard Mele Kalikimaka quite a bit & loved it every time (often singing along). Although, I must admit, it still reminds me of that goofy scene in Christmas Vacation.

Anywho, as I said before, we had a great time, but things didn't go quite as planned. The first half of our vacation was in the midst of one of Maui's worst storms in many years. Thankfully we weren't on the side of the island (the east side which is the rainy side) that experienced mud slides and major power outages. We didn't lose power & filled our time shopping, eating, shopping some more, eating some more, etc. :) On the last rainy day, we spent time in the Maui Aquarium. THEN....FINALLY....The sun came. awwww. The beautiful Maui sun and beaches. There is nothing like it. We stayed in Ka'anapali at Maui's "most Hawaiian hotel" which is on a beautiful stretch of beach. In fact, Ka'anapali beach is known as one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. I recommend that if any of you ever head to Maui, stay in Ka'anapali to experience the beautiful beach. There are many hotels and condos to chose from. We are partial to KBH, although not 4 or 5 stars or fancy schmancy by any means, b/c it is so Hawaiian, staff is great, free nightly hula/music show, and has one of the best stretches of beach! They also have great vacation packages, have a beautiful goodbye ceremony for EACH guest, and have great packages for return guests. Because we were return guests and were celebrating, we got a free room upgrade, great deal on the room, breakfast every morning, & rental car. We arrived to champagne in our room & half way through our stay they gave us a little gift basket with plumeria bath & body products. Turn down service every night with yummy macadamia cookies. The ocean (from partial to full) & courtyard views are beautiful!

OK, back to what we did. So, like I said, the sun finally came out & we got our beach on! Lots of laying on the beach. A snorkeling trip to the Molokini crater & Turtle town were we saw a lot of pretty fishies & sea turtles & we saw some whales in the distance. That was probably one of my favorite part of the trip. We also went on an evening cocktail whale watch cruise, however, it is the very beginning of whale season in Hawaii, so we only saw a few in the distance. We saw SO MANY back in the 2005 wedding trip (one even breached RIGHT NEXT TO OUR BOAT, remember that, ETK??? AWESOME!!!) Also, lots of great foods & fruity drinks & DEE-LICIOUS pineapple. MMM! I swear, the pineapple in Hawaii is amazing! Oh, and more shopping (we shopped WAY to much. I think hubby & I have a T-shirt addiction.) And hubby surprised me with another graduation gift that I have been wanting & is great for traveling & casual days.

Unfortunately, on our last full evening in Maui, I became HORRIBLY ill. I am assuming I had food poisoning & won't go into the details, but I really thought I was dying. It was awful. I have never been in so much pain, seriously. I almost had hubby take me to the hospital. It. was. that. bad. Anyway, I got some OTC meds & gatorade in me and improved by the next morining. THANKFULLY. We spent our last morning resting in the sun & then took an over night flight home. Again, thankfully I was feeling better. I ate very little that day as to have no issues on the plane. It wasn't the best way to end a trip. Oh well. For the most part, despite the rain, not getting to do several things we wanted to do, & my short-almost-dying illness, we really did have a good time. We were sad to leave, but I must admit, it is good to be home again. We'll just have to go back again sometime....perhaps not in December, though. ;)

Now I just have to graduate tonight & get back into SERIOUS study mode for my PA board exam. Back to life. Back to reality.

But I can still dream of Maui.

More pics here.

I'm Back......

But too tired to blog.

We had a great time in Maui. It didn't go completely as planned, but had a good time none the less. Details & pics to come. I promise.

I have a lot going on this week, so blogging may be at a minimum. I have a little thing called graduating from PA school this week. No big deal, eh?

So....more later.

Stay tuned.

Weekly Words Challenge

This week's WWC words supplied by Tink over at Pickled Beef are ORANGE and LANDSCAPE.

This is what one looks like after working several 12 hour night shifts in the ER. See the ORANGE ear plugs? Not what you'd call a sleeping beauty. I have no idea how the bed got all mangled.

Hubby working hard in the field.

My parents' lovely landscaping at the Colfax Cottage.


The old New York Bliss farm house




Our humble little townhome yard. It's small, but it's ours.

This last one is a cheat as it is not mine, but it is a beautiful orange Maui sunset which I will be seeing VERY soon.....

Baby's Gotta Brand New Toy

Video added!

Thanks ETK! He loves it. I think it's his favorite Bday gift. ;)