Ono treats from Hawaii

There are a group of women who I have chatted with daily since September 2006...we all were married in Hawaii and "met" online at The Knot, while planning our weddings. Some of these gals live in the islands and most of us just love Hawaii and come from all across the US, Canada and Australia! We exchange gifts a couple of times of year. Last year it was Christmas Ornaments, if you remember the awesome ones I received from Evonne and Jaime. Once we receive them, we usually take photos of the items and post them on the forum we all chat on to share.

This summer, we decided to do one with little gifts that represent where we live. I drew Kristen, who lives in Colorado, and sent her items from the Made in Oklahoma Store...pralines, peach jam, BBQ dry rub and pecan chocolate turtles (missing from the photo, because they were too tasty!). Here's what Kristen got from me:

Lisa in Hawaii drew my name for this gift exchange and look what I got:

Yummy mac nut goodness in three flavors along with a cute note from Lisa!

Tanioka's Corn Flake and Chocolate Chip-Arare Cookies

Lisa and her husband John make these marble magnets from John's underwater photographs.

He's a free diver, which means he uses no snorkel or scuba equipment and just holds his breath for the photos! Aren't they just little gems of art!

Much mahalo to Lisa for sending us a slice of the islands! It makes me want to be there SO much more than I already do! I can hardly believe it's been two years since Joseph and I were in Kauai (for our wedding) and nearly a year since I was there, in Honolulu, for work, when I was lucky enough to meet Lisa in person!

It's funny, I chat online with this group of women daily. We've shared a lot...from wedding planning to life as newlyweds, family issues, work dramas, and for some of us, try to conceive and pregnancy. It's amazing how close you can become with people that you've hardly met in real life by share your daily experiences with online. I love my Hawaii Knotties, turned Nesties! They're a great bunch of ladies!

I'm back from Hawaii...

12 hours later, I am finally home. Flying to Hawaii from Oklahoma is no joke. I now know how spoiled we were, being able to get to Hawaii in 6 hours from CA.

Anyway, it was a long, long 10 days in Hawaii. Thankfully I had a wonderful room at the Hilton Hawaiian Beach Resort and Spa in Waikiki. It was my refuge from the 16 hour work days. My feet will never be the same, I am sure of it. I had 1.5 days off, which I used exploring the island and hanging on the beach. I was also able to meet some of my internet friends from TheKnot.com's Hawaii Brides Board. These are the ladies I connected with when I was planning our wedding in Hawaii and we've just kept in touch via email, Facebook and The Knot over the past two years. I finally met them in person over some yummy local grinds (food) at the Side Street Inn:

From Left to Right: Evonne (MrsBabySalute), Lisa (LisaKeiko), Nicole (MrsNicole&Brian808), Me (Married2MrWright) and Sarah (MrsZiz)

That was the most fun I had all week. The food was delicious and the company was even better!

Let's see, I won't get into the nitty-gritty...the first part of the week was spent in Board Meetings and then an all day festival for girls aged 25 and under. The rest of the week, I was the backstage manager for the quartet and chorus contests. That was all well and good, except that I soon discovered that I am very allergic to the fire retardant chemical that was on the stage curtains and I broke out in a nasty rash all over my body. Good times. And then, in my exhaustion, I left my carry-on behind in the rental car along with my house/car keys, camera and eye glasses. Thankfully, my colleague found it and it will make it's way back to Tulsa later this week. I did have to take a cab home from the airport because J was at work when I arrived. Later, he took me back to the airport to get my car out of long term parking. WHEW!

To recap:

Average number of hours worked each day: 12

Average number of daily shoe changes to help my aching feet: 3

Number of hives on the parts of my body that came in contact with the stage curtains: hundreds

Number of tubes of Benadryl cream: 3

Number of bags left behind: 1

Missing a once-in-a-lifetime history-making election: PRICELESS.

I voted absentee, but I was basically in a convention vacuum and missed all of election day! I got text message updates from J and during my dinner break was able to see snippets of the McCain's concession speech. But that was about it. I tried to catch up on the action later that night, as much as possibe on CNN, but with an 8 hour difference between Hawaii and the East Coast, I feel like I missed the whole thing. That's pretty sad.

I wrote to our OK Senator and former Congressman, Tom Coburn, and requested tickets to the Obama-Biden Inauguration in Washington D.C. Hey! It never hurts to ask, right? Apparently, the only legitimate way to get tickets is from your state respresntative. I mentioned our being an interracial couple and that J is bi-racial. I also mentioned that I had sung with his opera singer daughter, Sarah Coburn, at the Metropolitan Opera competition back in 2001. Who knows, we might get the tix! He's a Republican anyway, so I am sure he'd be happy to give them away, right!?

More pics of my week in Waikiki to come, once I get my camera back. I never thought I'd be anxious to leave Hawaii, but I must say, it's good to be home.

UPDATE: Here are some pics from my 10 days in Honolulu:

On the balcony of my suite in the Rainbow Tower overlooking Waikiki Beach and Diamond Head in the distance

Sunrise

View of the main swimming pool and Ali'i Tower and their rooftop pool

Pinneapple growing at the Dole Plantation

One Year Later...

One year ago, J and I were married on the shores of Kauai. It was a gorgeous day, full of emotion—lots of laughter and a few tears of joy too. It was an intimate ceremony, surrounded by 21 of our nearest and dearest. Even more, they had all traveled to be there that day and we got to enjoy their company on the Garden Isle for a full week, which was amazing!

They always say that the first year of marriage is a challenge. I never thought it would be for us, because we’ve already been together for many years. But, alas, this year was full of challenges! So much so that we can hardly believe that only 12 months have passed since we said “I do” in Hawaii. Some days, it seems more like 12 years! From my car accident in October, to his mother’s near-deadly bout with pneumonia in December…starting my event planning business in February and closing it down, along with my voice studio, to up and move to Tulsa, Oklahoma and start new jobs and a new life. No matter what, we’ve met these challenges head-on, together, as a team. And that is what being married is all about!

We’ve had great joys too…from the daily comforts we give to each other, to getting a new puppy to raise together, buying a new CRV (and feeling good about it!), supporting our friends as they prepared for the birth of their son and exploring our new city of Tulsa together.

As we celebrate our first wedding anniversary we reflect on the love that we share and the vows we spoke to each other, before God, our family and friends:

On this day, I promise to be your best friend and loving partner in marriage. Together, we will share all of the triumphs and challenges that life may bring. I commit to the friendship upon which our love is based, and promise that I will consciously renew this commitment daily, so that our partnership in marriage will always be strengthened.

I promise to communicate with you patiently, expressing myself openly and honestly, while respecting your unique individuality and view of the world. I will not make assumptions; if I do not understand, I will ask.
In a difficult situation, I will look upon my own contribution to it rather than cast judgment upon you and will offer you acceptance, rather than criticism. When I am wrong, I will offer amends and when I have been wronged, I will offer forgiveness. I will continue to seek personal growth as an individual, so that I may always bring the best of myself to our relationship.

As your husband, I promise to encourage your dreams and goals, celebrate your accomplishments and embrace you in all of your endeavors, come what may. I will honor your trust in me and put our marriage above all outside influences. I will build a home with you that will be a peaceful and safe place that provides us comfort and is a refuge from the world. I will make time each day to laugh with you and promise to always greet you with a kiss and a smile. Things will not always be perfect or easy, but with God's help and our commitment to each other, I will love you without condition, support you without reservation, comfort you with compassion and stand by your side through all of our joys and sorrows, today, tomorrow and for all the days of my life.

And we look toward our future together…J finishing school and transitioning into a new career field. Investing in our retirement funds. Thinking about buying a house and starting a family. Not all next year, of course, but sooner, than later. Most of all, we are grateful for how we were brought together all those years ago…the most unlikely of couples in the eyes of many…and have grown together as best friends, partners, lovers…as husband and wife.