Our Christmas

Our Christmas was wonderful!

We both had to work on Christmas Eve

but when I got home a little after 8pm we ate cookies and watched Elf

{we love that movie}

And we opened one present from each other.

I unwrapped a cute pink zip-up sweatshirt

and Zach unwrapped a word of the day calendar. 

We woke up around 7:30 on Christmas morning, excited for the day.

We made a good breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon, and hash browns.

We talked with our families and then opened up the rest of our presents. 

Our display of Christmas goodies 

{we opened our presents by the fire}

Thank you to everyone who sent us a Christmas card!

We enjoyed looking at all our Christmas cards throughout the month.

Thank you to our friends and family who sent us presents.

We love all of our gifts.

My favorite is my stocking stuffer...

Zach made me 12 coupons (one for each month starting in January)

which I love, it was so thoughtful and creative!

I got Zach a coffee mug with a picture of him on the scooter

and the top says "boot scootin' boogie"

He loves it and thinks it's hilarious.

His mug on a mug

Zach also got me the Joy of Cooking cookbook,

which I love and think will come in handy.

And it fits perfectly in the corner shelf in our kitchen.

We were hoping we could have gone to the beach on Christmas day but it rained for a good 2 hours in the morning and then the rest of the day was overcast.

But in the afternoon we walked to the little park by our apartment and played frisbee.

Then we went for a little scoot ride to the beach to take a few pictures. 

I got Zach this aloha shirt sort of as a joke 

but he loves it.

Mele Kalikimaka!

Our Hawaiian snowman

Zach's Christmas extended a few days.
Yesterday his gift from his brother arrived
and Zach was beyond thrilled to find...

...that Keith got him a speargun so he could go spearfishing.
When we first started talking about moving to Hawaii Zach talked about wanting to get good at spearfishing, and now he can.
He is so excited to go out and try it
and I'm excited for when he does get good at it and catches us some fish we can cook up!
........

We hope everyone had a great Christmas and holiday season!

We sure did! 

Any Advice?

We've been enjoying making our apartment our home. 

It's been fun.

I haven't decorated too much yet but I have a lot of ideas for projects.

I'm going to have to be patient with this task and just do little things here and there when I can.

We did turn our walk-in closet into our bedroom, literally, it's a room for our bed!

We bought a full futon mattress (that fits perfectly), a mattress pad, and foam topper. 

It's quite cozy and comfy. 

We love it.

 I would like to make a headboard just to give it a little something. 

This is how Zach finds me most mornings...wrapped up in my cocoon.

With our bed in the closet that gives us space for a living room.

We are still searching for a couch, coffee table, and area rug.

We hope to have our living room complete shortly after the new year. 

On my days off I try to bake and cook.

I really enjoy baking...there are so many recipes I want to try!

{Must be patient with this too}

It's hard to cook when I work nights and us having opposite schedules.

We've had a few successful meals like broccoli and chicken casserole, chicken enchiladas, and stuffed bell peppers. 

But we need to get better at meal planning. 

Sometimes we feel lost with grocery shopping, 

especially with our budget, which changes from pay check to pay check. 

So, I am writing this blog with the intention of getting advice, ideas, and suggestions on how to plan weekly/monthly meals and than effectively budget for them. 

Any tips would be greatly appreciated!

We hope you are all enjoying this holiday season.

The weather on the island has been overcast, windy and rainy.

Zach's had a few wet days on the boot scoot but he just laughs.

The other night I came home

and found this

It made me laugh

We had to come up with clever ways to hide our Christmas presents for each other. 

And no, I didn't peek! 

Our Stockings Are Hung!

A big thanks to our parents for sending us boxes filled with Christmas decorations so we could spread Christmas cheer in our apartment! We did splurge and bought a fresh 2 foot Christmas tree, which we l.o.v.e although it's already turning brown--hold on little tree just 9 more days!! 

We've been jamming Christmas tunes and I love singing along (I can't carry a tune to save my life...poor Zach) but I love it and Zach gets to laugh at me.

I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas
(the Home Alone version) is our favorite.

Our Christmas shopping and card sending are finished. 

Our presents are wrapped.
And stockings are hung. 

I've already gone through one container of eggnog.

Cookies have been baked and eaten {need to bake more, for Santa of course} 

And next on our list is Christmas light hunting.

We are excited for Christmas!

Riding home on the boot scoot with our little tree

Zach's grandma gave me these ornaments a few years ago

 We love our lights

We bought this little starfish and I turned it into our tree-topper

Our Christmas display

Mele Kalikimaka!

Zach's Notes

Zach's Notes - A semi-annual installment by Zach. Be forewarned!

We've been in our apartment now for a month, Hawaii for about three months and we continue to see/hear/do new things. Some things I've learned since being out here:

1. Hawaii really is awesome. Why did I wait so long to move out here?

2. Hawaiian people are incredibly friendly and helpful.

3. The ocean needs to be respected at all times.

4. Moving to a new town is very hard, it's all about the little victories.

5. Having to completely furnish an apartment is incredibly expensive. It seems everyday there is something else that Sara needs. I don't get it.

6. Free, unlocked wifi is awesome!

7. Unlike Kevin McCallister, I do like spending Christmas in a tropical climate. Walking around in sandals and t-shirts and going to the beach in December is better than I thought it would be.

8. Sara is the best roommate ever! So sporadic and energetic!

Today was the Honolulu marathon and we decided that since we weren't running in it, we could at least wake up early and cheer on the runners. It was a bright morning with a slight breeze which I think  felt good to the runners. It was pretty cool seeing 30,000 people running down the street. Some of them were wearing crazy costumes. For the little while that we watched, we saw Spiderman in full costume, two sets of brides/grooms, a bunch of Ms. Clauses, a few Wonder Womans, some sort of Tiger Man (with a full cape), and a lot of people wearing clown wigs. oh and Deadmou5 showed up, too.

Not wanting to be outdone by the lady with the accordion and jingle bells, we put a lot of energy into our cheering efforts.

During a lull in the action, Sara showed me how she would run a marathon if she was ever was signed up for one.

We are having a great time and want to share the experience with anyone who is interested. Feel free to come out for a visit, we have space for you! Or just write us or send us presents. It is Christmas time after all. 441-A Kuliouou Rd Honolulu, HI 96821