birthday weekend

This Monday was my birthday and we did quite a bit of celebrating that weekend. George worked all week and all weekend, so the days were spent with friends and he joined us at night. Thursday night was George's Winter Fiesta for his work. It was at the Hyatt and we decided to stay the night and use our last free room coupon. We had a great buffet dinner, lots of drinks, then some ramen and a game of darts with our friends. The next day we spent relaxing at the Hyatt pool.

sunset from our room at the Hyatt

george and I at his company dinner

george playing tourist at our favorite ramen place

it was such a pretty day!

plumeria by the Hyatt pool

On Saturday Hailee, Andrea and I all met up for lunch at Pika's. Hailee's birthday is 4 days before mine so we spent the weekend celebrating together. After Pika's we went and got pedicures. We went out to dinner that night at Al Dente at the Hyatt. Their food there is always so good!

the only picture I got all night

On Sunday the three of us went out again, but this time for brunch at Papa's. I had some amazing red velvet pancakes and a peach bellini. The rest of the day I spent relaxing. On Monday, my actual birthday, George booked me a massage at the Hyatt's spa. It was wonderful! Afterwards I came home and cooked dinner for myself, George, Andrea and Hailee. 

yummy!!

grocery staples

It's easy to get into a shopping rut when it comes to groceries. Back in California I had the main items that I bought every week and recipes I would make for dinners. Our tastes haven't changed but there's something about living on an island that changes the way we eat and cook. I still buy similar things that I did in California, but I have noticed some items that we go through a lot quicker than before. 

One of those is limes. I ALWAYS have limes and lemons in our fridge, I buy a few every week and I always go through them. They used to get old and moldy back in California, but now I use them well before they go bad. Another is rice. I buy jasmine rice by the 5 lb bag and go through one almost every month. Soy sauce, honey and rice vinegar too. I guess it's because I try to cook island-y type dinners and those almost always use those items. I swear every time I marinade some chicken, I use soy, citrus and vinegar! 

our first weekend of SUPing

We had wonderful weather this past weekend and were able to take out the paddle boards. On Saturday we went to Agana Bay and paddled out to Alupang Island. It was easy to get to, but with the winds and current, HARD to get back! On Sunday we had a SUP potluck at Matapang Beach in Tumon Bay. It was such a fun event. There were lots of other SUPers and plenty of good food. We paddled out a few times, paddled down to Hyatt to meet friends, and even got in our first night paddle. After the sun went down, they fired up the grill again and we all ate ribs for dinner. I am already itching to get back out on the water!

just a little update

All week the weather has been bad. It's rainy, cloudy and super windy. It's hard to live on a tropical island when the only "tropical" you see for weeks on end is "tropical" storm. Sure, we have amazing weather and views and I can see the ocean everyday, but we miss the sun! We have so much we want to get out and do! We haven't even had a chance to take out our new paddle boards yet. 

I've been working on a few photography sessions and am getting ready for my birthday coming up. My friend, Hailee's birthday is 4 days before mine so we are celebrating together. We plan on getting pedicures, then going out to a fancy dinner, then brunch on Sunday. A lot more low-key than last year! 

George has been working like crazy, long hours and then still has work to do when he gets home. He did win an award at work, a pretty prestigious one! I'm super proud of him. Under all his silliness, he's pretty smart! 

Not much else is new around here. We're just trucking along! 

around the island again

Last weekend was my first weekend back on island and George had to work. Hailee and I wanted to do something, but the weather wasn't the best for a beach day. We decided to take a trip around the island and check out a few spots we hadn't been to before and some we had. We started our trip off with a little stop at Tea District for a yummy milk boba tea. Yummy!!! We stopped at Paseo Park because I wanted to scope it out as a possible new shooting location for my photography. We saw a few boonie puppies with their mama. So sad. We also both checked out Piti Channel for the first time. Such beautiful waters!!! We went to the usual spots too, the port to watch the waves, Inaranjan Pools, Talafofo Bay to watch the surfers and a few of the overlooks. We also finally stopped at Jone's Beach to check it out. It was so pretty, we definitely need to snorkel there one day! Anyways, I took a few pics with my iPhone and a few with my real camera. Here they are!

poor little boonie puppies at Paseo Park

super clear water with fishes at Piti 

so pretty

hailee posing for me at Piti

the waves at Piti

see, Guam has more than palm trees!

Inarajan Pools

Jones Beach

Hailee and I at Jones Beach (it was really windy)

the surfers at Talafofo Bay

SUP!

For Christmas, George and I (along with our families) got stand up paddle (SUP) boards! It's a perfect activity for the calm bay waters in Guam. I love that now we'll have something active and fun to do instead of just snorkeling or sitting on the beach! We ordered them from a local shop, SUP Shack Guam in Tamuning. If any of my Guam friends are looking for lessons or to buy a board, check them out. They are super friendly and awesome!! Thank you to all our family members who donated to our paddle board fund. Best Christmas present ever!!! Of course, since they arrived the weather has been terrible! We are so looking forward to getting them out on the water!

me picking up my board

new living room decor!

close up of George's board

our boards tucked behind the couch! 

my carbon fiber and bamboo paddle, the design is what sold me on the board!

you win some, you lose some

This post will be pretty short because I really don't feel like elaborating on the subject. I do however, feel like I need to write down some things. I usually don't like to write negative thoughts, but here they are!

During our trip to California we wanted to see as many of our friends as possible. It was a difficult struggle with trying to please family as well as make sure we did as much fun activities with the girls. Somehow, we both found the time to see our friends. Sometimes it was on our way home from shopping, or on our way up the hill for just 20 minutes or so. When we first got settled, we both reached out to our friends. We let them know to text us when they had time and we would somehow make a visit happen. We got to see a few of our friends, some tried to meet up and it just didn't work out, and some just didn't try. It's sad. We get that life happens, we were busy too, but to know that the time was there, but no effort made... Well, it's just sad. That is all!

christmas visit pics

I didn't get to take as many photos on our trip as I wanted. I barely got my real camera out with the exception of a couple photoshoots with friends. Anyways, this post is basically a photo dump from our trip. Enjoy!

george and I right after landing in california. we were very tired...

kiera passed out in the car after we first got her

meli being goofy

kiera passed out again... right before she puked everywhere

kiera cuddles <3 i="">

christmas morning

cuddles with jamie's dog, molly

sunset in oregon house

meli

auntie ardry

kiera finally getting to bounce at the galleria

kiera

meli

the engleheart ladies on our way to six flags

kiera, freezing, at six flags

awwww

meli is sad she's too short for the ride

we fixed it! now she can ride!

kiera is waaaaay too short

george and I on the couch, ringing in the new year

roasting marshmallows

roasting marshmallows with daddy

date night with our bff, casey

they both love their bun buns!