My friend Dolly and I found really cheap flights to Hawaii a few months ago so we bought them. It's been on my top 5 list for about 5 years(listed on the right hand side of this blog). NOW seemed like as good a time as any to cross it off my bucket list.
Waiting at LAX to board our plane to Honolulu. That guy's floral shirt was genius, why didn't I buy one!?
First item of business upon landing in Hawaii: the aloha market and snowcones!
Waiting at LAX to board our plane to Honolulu. That guy's floral shirt was genius, why didn't I buy one!?
First item of business upon landing in Hawaii: the aloha market and snowcones!
the first hotel we stayed in was so nice. We liked having a big clean bed to ourselves.
Classic.
Fresh Mango-Pineapple-Coconut Bingsha with Boba.
Best $5 I spent each day!
Our first night there we walked along the beach in Waikiki. Apparently the swelling was the highest it had been in 20 or so years so everyone was body boarding, surfing, throwing themselves in the wild waves. We didn't know it was out of the ordinary until the next day, but we certainly had fun watching everyone scuff and throw themselves into the water!
I could not have predicted this. Nearly everyday people made comments about Dolly and I being lesbians. I never even thought about it, but I guess Hawaii is more of a lovers destination.
But I dare say, we do look pretty darling together!
Jumpshots in Waikiki!
Scuba diving. Sounds fun, right? Worst decision we made.
We couldn't have predicted it would've taken ALLLL day and that dolly would get sick and barf on the boat or that I wouldn't be able to equalize my ears. But this group that took us was painfully slow and I literally saw nothing in the water.
Dolly, right after she barfed.
She immediately felt better.
Loving my saltwater curls after scuba diving!
The locals fishing for anchovy-like fish.
The West coast of Oahu=very dry. Reminded me of Utah.
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This was the best meal we had there: Taiwanese hot pot.
Sweet Home Cafe made us wait 1.5 hours for a table but it was worth it!
For dessert, they brought us the best bing!
I have no idea what that green jello was on top, but it was divine.
I was waiting to hop on our catamaran with a few families.
This adorable kid made me realize that the most important thing is being comfortable in your body. Who cares if it's perfect!?
Really relaxing catamaran on Waikiki Beach.
Dolly and I hustled to switch hotels and then we went on the most beautiful hike to Manoa Falls.150 ft waterfall--Manoa Falls.
This hike was about 1.5 hours from the road. We rode a bus there, which took forever but saved us $$ in the long run.
Doesn't this look like footage from Jurassic Park!?
Coolest Tree Roots!
On Saturday, we rented a car and drove along the east coast up to Laie.
These mountains were breathtaking.
Getting some advice from some locals who took our picture.
The grounds at the Byodo-In Temple.
The Byodo In Temple is next to a collection of other temples and churches of different faiths.
All these holy houses are surrounded by various cemeteries.
It was so green and humid.
This was the hawaii we'd been searching for all week!
Byodo-In Temple. Cost like $3 to get in, so we just shot some photos from the perimeter (budget alert!)
Beach on the East Coast. The locals call these rabbit and turtle islands.
Such a darling couple! jkjkjk!
Shockah!!
Hukilau Cafe from 50 first dates.
They stop taking orders at 11:15, we pulled up around 11:20.
Maybe if we weren't haoli's, they would've given us some pancakes :(
They stop taking orders at 11:15, we pulled up around 11:20.
Maybe if we weren't haoli's, they would've given us some pancakes :(
This beach was between Shark's Cove and Waimea Beach.
This was my favorite beach because it wasn't covered in sand, they were mini little pebbles.
This was my favorite beach because it wasn't covered in sand, they were mini little pebbles.
Dolly and I jumped off this rock. Granted Dolly jumped infinity times and I jumped twice.
I'm a bit of a chicken:)
The Hawaii LDS Temple. 
Our view from our hike of Diamond Head Crater (which is kinda ugly. view=amazing. crater=ugly death)
Sunday we hit up the Pearl Harbor Historic Sites. We watched a really good video and took a water taxi over to the USS Arizona memorial. What an incredible story!
I didn't realize the ship was left right where it sank.
This memorial is a bit like battleship, where they have placed smaller memorials where the other ships were bombed. 
Loved this photo, it made me think of my sister in law Jen who likes lighthouses.
Hiking up to Diamond Head Crater. Kind of a cool hike.
Digging on cool cemeteries lately.
King's Statue across from the Iolani Palace in downtown Honolulu.
Can't remember what this place was called...Arlington Cemetery of Hawaii!? :)
We spent a lot of our time on Waikiki Beach. The sunsets were pretty incredible.
Saying our last goodbyes to the Ocean/Beach.
My friend from my time in Taiwan, Connie, met us at the beach, took us to dinner and then dropped us off at the airport. Pays to have cool friends that live in even cooler places.
My only regret is that I wish we would've had time to go to Kauai and Maui.Maybe next time-Goodbye for now, Hawaii.
Here’s where the Food Industry gets you. They hone in on buzzwords they think will sell their product. Terms like “natural” or “organic” are useless if the product in question is loaded with sugar (organic or not) or if the product contains highly processed ingredients and /or additives. Furthermore, labeling laws designed to supposedly “protect the consumer” are dubious, at best. Learn to read the fine print in the actual nutritional analysis on the back and come to understand the ingredient lists. A good rule of thumb where packaged food is concerned is to follow the edicts of ‘The X-Files’ and “Trust No One”. If it wouldn’t look like food to someone wandering around 40,000 years ago with a loin cloth and a spear, it probably isn’t food for you, either!
Keep in mind that most “mainstream” information sources have an inherent agenda (hidden or not so hidden in them). Anyone providing “education” regarding what it is you need to be healthy who comes from a mainstream perspective will either directly or indirectly be furthering the financial interests of various multinational corporations, mainstream medicine and/or pharmaceutical companies. This is not paranoia or cynicism…it is reality.
This is a biggie. People will rationalize ‘til Sunday why it’s OK for them to eat French fries or potato chips “once in a while” or have their daily beer. While it’s true that it really isn’t what you do “once in a while” that usually determines your ultimate health or success in life (of course, the definition of “once in a while” is another interesting thing to consider) but what you do consistently that matters most…this does have its exceptions.
Anyone who wants to see for themselves what “government guidelines” and The Food Pyramid can do for their health only needs to drive to the nearest Native American Reservation and look around. The government supplies these reservations with much of their food, based on these guidelines. Take a look at the tragically pervasive rate of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, alcoholism and any other degenerative illness you can think of. Look at life expectancy. Consider also what now constitutes “food” in government guideline-designed school lunch programs. After all…everyone knows that “ketchup is a vegetable”…
Although it’s always better not to be overweight, looking good on the outside in no way means everything is working right on the inside. It is entirely possible to be slim…AND diabetic. It is entirely possible to be slim and suffer a heart attack or stroke. It is entirely possible to be slim and get cancer…or just about any other disease. Superficial image isn’t everything. –It’s not even close. This is a major…and often disastrous cultural illusion. Diet programs designed to help you lose weight are typically focused on “low calories” to the exclusion of quality health or nutrition. They typically supply their desperate victims with empty processed foods and coddle them with empty “low-cal” and “low fat” carbohydrates and sugary treats to seduce them into their programs (“look—I can EVEN eat chocolate cake and STILL lose weight!”). Those that market these programs, often supported and or designed by registered dieticians, should be ashamed of themselves.
Keep in mind that vitamin companies are profit-oriented institutions, also. Many would like you to believe that you can make up for eating crap by just taking your daily “One A Day”. There is no such thing. “Supplements” are just that: —Supplements. They can be an incredibly useful adjunct to an already healthy diet…but never E-V-E-R a substitute.
Even by the most conservative geneticists’ standards, we have anywhere from 80% to 97% control over our own genetic expressions. We ALL have dormant genes for all sorts of things, both good and bad. You’re not just fat because your mother and father were fat. –Nor are you destined to have a heart attack just because half the people in your family have had one, or by the same token will you get diabetes, or cancer. Genetics can have some influence, certainly…but genes are turned on and off by regulatory genes and regulatory genes are mainly controlled by nutrients. A gene will not express itself unless the internal environment is conducive to its expression… and we have ultimate control over that by the foods we choose to eat, the emotions we habitually choose to experience, the toxicity of the environment in which we live and the lifestyle we consistently choose to live. Learn to be the master of your own genetic destiny.
All of us, regardless of our ideologies, ethnic backgrounds or anything else are genetically “hunter gatherers” and 99.99% identical to humans living 40,000 to 100,000 years ago. We are, in effect, creatures of the Ice Age and designed to consume a diet rich in animal source foods and natural fats, together with a variety of fibrous plant matter. Vegetarianism and veganism are modern day ideas founded more in ideological principles than principles of human physiology and anthropological evidence.
Nothing could be further from the truth. The dietary guidelines suggested in my book: “Primal Body—Primal Mind” can not only save you hundreds of dollars in grocery bills (while still being able to afford very high quality meat, fish, eggs and produce), but one also must take into account money to be saved in avoiding medical bills or loss of work income through illness. We’re talking pennies on the dollar here. By approaching diet from an educated, principle-based (and not “formulaic”) perspective one automatically understands what is needed and also knows better how to navigate the landmines of mis- and dis-information set by corporate economic and/or political interests. It’s all way easier and far cheaper than you think!!
