InKind

I don't promote anything unless I actually believe in it. Depending on the product, sometimes it takes years, and sometimes, I never promote it because I'm never convinced. Today, I'm promoting something.

My SIL introduced me to InKind a while back. I got the app but I didn't actually use it. In short, it's a restaurant rebate program that rewards you for eating out. I browsed the restaurants on the app but didn't end up using it for a long time. I didn't really understand how to use it, and I didn't feel like eating out just to find out how.

Fast forward about 6-8 months, maybe more. We were going to New York. I was going to be taking two kids around the city by myself for 1.5 days. I was pretty terrified. I am not your tour guide/planner when it comes to vacations. I like to be the one who goes along for the trip and has someone else telling me what to do, where to go, and what we're going to eat. Needless to say, I was stressed and put off planning this trip for a long time. 

The week before we left, I finally started to think about what to do with my kids. I knew if I didn't have a plan, we'd end up sitting on the bed in the hotel room watching HGTV or Food Network for hours and hours. That was no way to spend valuable time in New York! We were even staying overnight in Manhattan - this may never happen again in my life. Planning food is one of my childhood traumas. Growing up, if we went on vacation, we ate a lot of McDonald's and Burger King. Why? It was cheap. While I understand the mentality, that is not my approach to vacations anymore with my family. Taking that into account, I had to find restaurants where I could bring my children by myself and find them safe food they would eat. This ended up being some version of chicken nuggets and sushi.  

Premade or Homemade? Make your guess!

The perk of being in NYC and using InKind was tons of restaurants were on the app. I was able to save my favorites and mark their locations in the areas where we would be. This gave me options to give my children to pick from and allowed our mealtime choices to be stress-free and enjoyable rather than stressful and angry. 

So let me tell you about this app from someone who is very particular about anything and everything. 

1. You have to pay your bill through the app. Whether you pay directly when you order in the app or pay your bill using the app, it has to go through the app. At a sit-down restaurant, this means when your check comes out, you have to get the check number and type it through the app. Then, the app pays for you with a payment method saved in the app - this could be a credit card or money you've preloaded into the app. If you are ordering at a restaurant, this means you scan your QR code at the register at the end of your order. We encountered some difficulty with this at one restaurant because I saw ordering tablets off to the side upon entering. I went to the tablet, made my order, but then didn't see any way to use InKind to pay for the order. I went to the cashier to ask and he told me I had to place the order with him at the cash register. (I didn't even realize this was an option because I saw the tablets first upon entering). While I probably felt like a dumb customer who didn't know what to do, asking meant I figured it out instead of paying for the order myself at the tablet without going through the app. 

2. The way your rewards work has some caveats. You can only use one reward per transaction. This means you have to choose between getting a % cash back on your order or using your cashback rewards to pay for a part/all of your order. Now you really do get a % cash back on your order. If the restaurant offers you a 10% cash back and your pre-tax total is $50 worth of food, you will earn $5 cash back to use on a future order. The catch is if you are buying $50 worth of food and you want to use $7 in your account that you've earned previously, you will not be earning 10% ($5) cash back on top of the $7 discount you're using. I did not know this until I went to New York and started using the app and earning cash back. On the flip side, any cash back you earn on orders is available immediately. If you earned $5 from your lunch meal and you want to go get dessert somewhere nearby which is also on InKind, that $5 can be used toward your dessert order immediately. This is a really nice perk.

3. Cash back does expire. In short, they give you 2 months, but they're nice enough to give you the full month, so it ends up being between 60-90 days. For example, I have $8.65 sitting in my account as cash back. I earned my last reward on July 14, 2026. That $8.65 in cash back expires on September 30, 2026. It is the end of the second month from the date I earned the reward - 75 ish days. 

If you live in a more urban area, this app is very convenient and handy. I will definitely be using this app again if we travel to larger cities - Seattle, Chicago, LA, NYC for sure. It's a great "bonus" in additional to any normal credit card rewards you'd earn paying with your card when eating out. If this sounds like something which would benefit you, give it a try and sign up for $25 off a $50 meal! (Yes, the discount is instant.)

Single Parenting Week

Since we've had kids, my husband has had to leave for work trips four times. The first time was when my daughter was six weeks old. That was an absolute nightmare and I was very pissed about that trip. The second time was when my daughter was 22 months old and I was 30 weeks pregnant. After that trip, I jokingly hoped he wouldn't have to travel for the next 2+ years. My wish came true!....at the expense of Covid. 

The first trip he took after Covid was last summer. I had a four year old and a two year old. I don't remember it being too bad, but I also don't remember what happened. He took another trip last week and I was left with a five year old and a three year old. We had LOTS of fun when Daddy was gone. There were definitely multiple moments where I wanted to scream at them and make them disappear temporarily, but overall, it was a really fun week with my kids. 

I took the week off work, but honestly, I traded it for more work and no pay. My husband did keep up his end of the bargain of always buying me a gift when he goes out of town and leaves me with the kids. I was impressed by his thoughtfulness and how useful this gift was.

He got me (us) fridge magnet letters! They're so fun. We write each other messages and even label the dishes for the week. It's like an alternative to our dry erase board except more hands-on.

My daughter has also taken on to creating her own words and asking me to pronounce them. 

This one was not as impressive as the one she made last night. I do like dmydym though. If only that were a real word...

Needless to say, it was a relief to have him back on Friday after a solid 96 hours by myself. 

I actually kind of miss those blog quizzes we used to put up as teenagers on our xanga and myspace 20+ years ago for our friends to fill out and see who knew us best. I wanted to bring one back for fun but actually offer a reward for the person with the most correct answers. So I made a quiz using a Google Form based off of my week as a single parent. The person with the most correct answers will receive a gift card of their choice from me. 

I actually don't even know if my husband knows all the answers to this quiz. But I promise you if his is the top winner, it won't count :) 

I'm accepting quiz entries until 12:00AM Friday April 14th, 2023. 

Maybe this will be a new tradition I start when my husband goes out of town for work. We'll see. 😄

Turner Falls

I've been wanting to share about various topics, but the time to sit down and write about them has always escaped me. This last month has been full of work, puking, and not enough sleep. Thankfully, I am not the one puking. Unfortunately, the little one's puking involves lots of laundry instead of scampering to a toilet.

However, we planned this trip about a month ago and were grateful it was able to happen.

Usually I teach every other Friday, but we made it a point to not teach/take off Friday the 26th so we could go on a day trip. Hubby's love of the outdoors has infiltrated my life and in our four years of marriage, we have hiked over 30 miles together. We went to Palo Duro Canyon in September of 2015, Big Bend in December of 2016, and Haleakala National Park in Hawaii in March of 2017. Our record together is a 15 mile hike in one 12-hour day, but the approximately 10 mile hike of Haleakala crater (where you go down first and then up) was no joke.

After having Sasha, we knew our days of tent camping and hiking long trails beginning at 5 am would be put on hold indefinitely. And, unfortunately, living in the wonderful and affordable suburbia which we do, nature is not a nearby focal point. However, I somehow came across this small park in Oklahoma, known for its waterfall, which was only about 2.5 hours away from us, closer than driving to Austin or Houston! We decided to make a day trip of it.

When we crossed the state border, we actually started to see a change in the landscape around us - we saw (tiny) mountains and different layers of rock formations! It actually reminded me a tiny tiny bit of Big Bend.

Some expectations and then reality checks of how the day actually played out.

Expectations:

1. We wanted to play the drive there and home right around the time baby would sleep so she could get a good long nap in the car on the drive there and home.


2. We brought our portable high chair seat so she could sit while we picnicked outside for lunch.


3. We'd get in a short hike with her in the carrier.

Reality:

1. Baby woke up at 7 am instead of her usual 8/8:30 am....so we bumped everything up and tried to leave the house by 9 am. We left at 9:15. She slept great on the way there. On the way back, we tried to leave by 2:30, but baby took too long eating so we didn't leave until 2:45/3:00pm. She slept ok and then woke up at 4:00pm and then screamed and cried the final 10 minutes home, probably because she was the only one in the back and had no people interaction for over 2 hours and didn't get any crawling/play time all day. I didn't want to sit in the back with her because I did for our last road trip and I got a headache/nauseas and just wanted to close my eyes and sleep.

2. She sat in her portable high chair seat, which was great so we could eat our lunch....except there were a crazy ton of bees and they wouldn't leave us alone. Had I been a third party watching us try to eat our lunch at this picnic table, it would have been a hilarious sight watching two people swatting their arms around, flinching every now and then, and walking around the table in weird circles and patterns with a baby sitting on the high chair seat on the table.

The only item I paid for in this photo was the hat
she's not wearing! Love hand me downs and gifts.

To be honest, it was really hard to get my priorities straight: run away from the bees, or get the bees away from the baby. Clearly, I couldn't do both because my lunch was on the table and I couldn't carry the baby and carry my lunch (a hot bowl of curry) away at the same time. So hard, right? Clearly first world problems.

A bowl of curry and homemade bread. Could the bees not leave us alone? 😭😭

3. We arrived at the park at 11:45 am and by the time the two of us were fed and we managed to get her to finish a bottle, it was 1:00 pm. We explored the waterfall and took our fair share of pictures, and then had a short hike of probably 1 mile round trip.

It only matters if she looks cute.

Family photo!

Nothing compared to what we used to conquer in a day, but we did see a yellow caterpillar on the way back though and had an amusing time watching it crawl around for a while.

Our little yellow caterpillar friend. We named it Yuzzy!

Traveling with a little one in tow is definitely so different than traveling with two adults, but after doing so twice now, it makes me a little braver to keep going. We're going to get her a passport soon.

2019 is going to be a big year (I hope!) :)

Part 5: Airbnb in Hawaii - My Take

Catch up on this series here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

The first time we stayed at an Airbnb, a friend booked it for all of us going out of town for a wedding. I didn't experience the actual booking experience, but I thought the condo was fine. It saved us money and we were able to spend more time with our friends.

We booked Airbnbs for Hawaii mainly to save money. Hawaii, although still part of the US, definitely has an "exotic" feel to it, and with that "exotic" feel, comes steeper prices for things such as hotels. Even the cheaper motels would run about $150 dollars per night. The nicer hotels and resorts ran a minimum of $250-$300 dollars a night. And these are pretax prices! Had we been on our honeymoon or something I think I would have insisted on staying at a nicer resort somewhere. Being a longer trip - 7 nights - we opted for a more frugal route: Airbnb.

This trip was booked only about a month in advance so we had to act fast to even reserve a place on Airbnb. We ended up booking two different locations for our trip: one was closer to the mountains and hiking, and the other was closer to the coast and the water attractions.

Airbnb #1 Facts: private bedroom. shared bathroom. shared living space. breakfast (milk, cereal, tea, coffee). designated parking. wifi. tv. mini fridge in bedroom. towels and toiletries.

Airbnb #2 Facts: private bedroom. private bathroom ensuite. shared living space. street parking. wifi. tv. minimum towels and toiletries.

Airbnb #1 Summary: We really thought the shared bathroom was going to suck staying at this airbnb. I didn't look closely while booking and overlooked the shared bathroom. In my defense, the listing wasn't super clear as to whether the bathroom was private or not. And then I kept thinking we would share the bathroom with the owners of the house. It's actually shared with other tenants in a second bedroom they rent out. After arriving, it just immediately felt like home. Everything was so clean. They were very generous with what they provided: shampoo, conditioner, body wash, sunscreen, toothpaste, floss, hair dryer, lotion, and towels. They were more than accommodating for what we needed, and we're not talking the cheap stuff either. They had Dove body wash and Pantene shampoo. Definitely Costco, but definitely not "cheap".  They also provided extras such as beach chairs and umbrellas as well as beach towels. It also worked in our favor that our first two nights there, we ended up having a private bathroom anyway because the next tenant hadn't arrived yet. In the mornings while eating breakfast, we'd usually chat with the owners and share about our plans for the day and get some feedback from them. It was extra ironic because they had lived in Mckinney for 10+ years and they still visit Dallas about once or twice a year to see family. What are the chances right? When the second tenant arrived, we hardly crossed paths with the shared bathroom. Except for the first night when his TV was turned up super loud, he was very pleasant.

When we left their house halfway through the trip, it was definitely bittersweet. They were a wonderful family to stay with and we really enjoyed our time with them.

Airbnb #2 Summary: Booking this Airbnb was kind of a pain. At first everything was fine, but then the week before our trip, I didn't hear from her for an entire week. Finally, the day before we were heading to her place, she messaged us saying there was going to be a change of plans because the original place we booked needed maintenance and wouldn't be available. So she was going to "upgrade" us to a beachfront condo with the same private bed and bath as reserved. At that point we didn't have much choice so it was fine and we just went with it. Well, I'll never know what the original place we booked was supposed to be like, but the upgrade didn't really feel like much of an upgrade....except that it was beachfront, the kind of beachfront where you walked across the street to the beach, not the kind of beachfront where you step outside onto the beach.

This particular owner was also very finicky with the bills. She posted signs in the kitchen and wrote in her messages on Airbnb multiple times to save electricity/water because the prices were so high. She just gave off a bad vibe of being stingy. And yea, I get that. Being very frugal and conscientious about money myself, I really understand. However, we're on vacation. And as the landlord, you should factor that into your rent. If you see a higher usage trend in water and electricity, you should raise your rates to accommodate.

I really didn't enjoy the second Airbnb we stayed at. It was more than enough for a place to shower and sleep for the night, but I didn't feel relaxed or at ease while staying there.

Specifically for Hawaii, we chose Airbnb because the price couldn't be beat. Airbnb is definitely not for everyone. If you need that private space with higher standards and have the means, get the hotel or resort. However, I will say that staying with the owners of the house was a much more pleasant experience. Having a private bathroom at our first location would have made it so much better, but getting to talk with them and learn about Hawaii from a local standpoint was worth it. I would also definitely read the comments from other Airbnb users about their stay. I went back later and read about the actual second location we stayed at (not the one we originally booked), and many people made comments about it feeling like an investor property whose owner is just doing the minimum to maximize profit - totally true.

All in all, we were grateful to have a place to shower and sleep at night. And the cable TV with Food Network and HGTV helped. :)

Hawaii Top 10 List - Part 4

This is part 4 in my mini-blog series. Catch up here: Part 1. Part 2. Part 3. 

Here's my Hawaii Top 10. It's not even close to capturing all the moments we shared while there, but they do encompass a good majority of the highlights. 

10. I didn't have to cook for an entire week.

Now if you know me, you know that I cook almost every day. On any normal given week, I cook at least once 6 out of 7 days. Our menu is usually planned Wednesday - Tuesday to match the weekly ad sales and I plan my work schedule around preparing meals. This does unfortunately mean that sometimes if I'm teaching 3-6 pm straight and dinner needs to be ready around 6:45 pm, we end up eating some easy to pull together meal ( pizza, dumplings, spaghetti, etc.) Sometimes if time allows and I feel like it, I will end up cooking dinner earlier in the day, morning or early afternoon, and essentially reheat it for dinner when the time comes. Being on vacation meant that I didn't have to do any of this! We either had meal spots preplanned, or we pulled out our phones, searched our location on Yelp, and picked a nearby well-rated restaurant. 

9. An 1859 Steinway.

We visited the Baldwin House when we were in Lahaina and there was an 1859 Steinway piano in the front room! No, it's not in any condition to be played. I peeked over the top to look inside at the strings and it was all deteriorated. Pretty sure if any of the keys on the piano were to be pressed, something would break inside...it is 158 years old though. 

A real 1859 steinway piano!

8. Unique Flora

I just couldn't get over how many plants and flowers were unique to Hawaii. Or maybe they're not unique to Hawaii, but I'd never seen them before. They were so extraordinary and beautiful. I'd get left behind many times trying to take a picture of a plant while hiking and he would keep walking without me.

Definitely not your typical succulent.

Heliconia rostrata - Hanging Lobster Claw

7. Coconut Demonstration

She halved the coconut and is showing off the flesh.
Mature coconuts are at the bottom. They're huge!

While we visited a tropical plantation in Maui, our tour included a coconut demonstration. I don't think I ever completely understood what was edible/drinkable in a coconut or what part of it was for what. Here's what I learned:

- Coconuts have this giant shell around it that you have to husk off.
- Young coconuts are for drinking the coconut water. Mature coconuts are for the coconut flesh.
- Coconut milk is made from grating the coconut flesh into shreds and then squeezing the liquid out.
- After halving the coconut, you can either freeze the halves or bake the halves to easily remove the flesh. If you don't do this step, the insides are actually quite hard.
- People die from falling coconuts so it's a state law in Hawaii to keep coconut trees trimmed.

6. Heart

We explored what Jonathan likes to refer to as the "acid war zone" which was around a blowhole on the northwest side of the island. In the middle of this acid war zone was a heart shaped rock. Not sure if someone physically carved this or if it was naturally there...I'm going to assume it was naturally there, but I'm skeptical. But it makes for great photos.

We have got to be the most attractive couple ever when we hike....not.

5. Waterfalls

I love waterfalls and Hawaii definitely has an abundance of them.

4. Haleakala Silversword

These are a species of plant and flower that only grows in the Haleakala volcano at elevations of 6,900 ft and above. As we hiked into the Haleakala crater, we saw a ton of these. From a distance, they look like glitter scattered across the landscape.

The majority of the silverswords that we saw were just the silvery needles that formed little mounds on the ground. You can see those in the background of the photo. The silversword that's blooming was special to see because we only saw two live blooming ones. These plants bloom once in their lifetime, and then the whole plant dies. 

3. Rainbow Eucalyptus Trees

These have got to be the coolest trees ever to grow. Their bark is multicolored! And it's all natural. It really doesn't get any cooler than that. This one was growing off the side of the highway so I made Jonathan stop so I could snap a picture. There were a lot more in this arboretum we stumbled upon on accident, but people were carving their names/initials on the bark of them. It was quite a shame :(

2. Kula Country Farms

I really enjoyed visiting the Kula Country Farms. We went during the wrong season for strawberry picking, but it was still fun to see their plants. Instead of picking strawberries, we just bought a pound from their farmer's market.

They were definitely some of the sweetest strawberries I remember having. They might possibly be THE sweetest, but I really can't remember. Another perk was that they were only $4.00/lb. Costco sold Kula strawberries as well and they were $10.99 for 2 pounds. Sorry Costco, Kula Farms wins on this one.

Here I am next to their giant strawberry board holding one of their strawberries. This picture definitely has a lot of my favorites in it :)

1. We shared our deepest kiss. 

How can I prove it was our deepest kiss? Well, first we have it on video thanks to his GoPro. Second, it was definitely our deepest kiss because it was 130 ft underwater! On our last day in Maui, we booked a submarine adventure and were able to go underwater and see fish, sharks, a sunken ship, coral, and much more marine life. It was a last minute addition to our weeklong adventure, and probably the most expensive, but so worth it. At the very bottom, the guide told those of us with special someones to have our deepest kiss. And we did :)

The captain let me sit in the pilot seat on the way out of the submarine and we took a picture. He's definitely throwing a shaka sign. I was too caught up in the moment of getting to sit in the pilot seat of a submarine to do anything except sit and excitedly smile. I think he thought we were newlyweds in Hawaii on our honeymoon. 2.5 years definitely still counts as newlyweds ;)

Tune in next time for part 5 when I discuss our Airbnb experiences. If you've never used Airbnb before and are curious, it might be helpful to read about our two vastly different Airbnbs.

Why I'm Glad This Trip Wasn't Our Honeymoon - Part 3

If you're just tuning in for the first time, this is the third blog in my Hawai mini-series. You can find part 1 and part 2 to catch up.

1. We went the frugal route and stayed in Airbnbs. We went the extra frugal route and stayed in Airbnbs with shared living spaces (and one had a shared bath). The extra frugal route was still quite expensive, but considering it was Hawaii, you gotta do what you gotta do.

I won't elaborate much about our Airbnbs here since it'll probably show up later in another blog, but yes, Airbnbs don't quite make for romance.

2. 1.5 lb of raw fish is too much to split between two people without rice.

We definitely ate with our eyes and not our heads one evening for dinner. We had looked up a place that sold poke by the pound. Their prices were very reasonable and I was excited to try them. we ended up getting half pounds of three flavors and a half pound of seaweed salad. I forgot to get a picture of one of them before we started eating.

We felt fine after eating dinner and returned back to our Airbnb for the evening. Everything seemed to be fine and we turned in for the night. Well, it was a rough night. I woke up and felt sick. It's a miracle I didn't actually get sick, but for a good hour or so, I thought I had ruined my entire vacation. By the next morning, I was feeling better already so somehow I had escaped the repercussions of my bad choice. 

3. We both got sunburned - his first since 8th grade and my first in over 15 years (I think...).

Quite contrary to what you would think, we did not get sunburned on the beach. We actually got sunburned hiking. The day after our intense hiking trip, we took it easy and spent the following day shopping and exploring the city center. We ended up at one of the malls in Maui and walked around. We were both so sore from the hike and still recovering. Their mall had a drugstore in it and I asked him if we should go find some aloe vera lotion for our sunburns. We passed it once, thought we'd be okay, and then walked back right before leaving because we thought it best to go get some: one of our smartest decisions during the trip. 

4. I put very little effort into dressing up.

Most people would probably book a mani pedi before going to Hawaii because everyone's first instinct is to think: beach! I definitely did not. I did put in the extra effort to paint my nails using my 10 year old nail polish (does nail polish even last that long? oops.) that probably cost less than $5 - clearance OPI! When I was flipping through some travel magazines at the airport, I was laughing to myself because of all the ads I saw for getting your hair/makeup/nails done to look nice for your trip. Good marketing strategy and they probably get good business from those tourists, but I am not one to succumb. Unlike our honeymoon when I actually tried to bring all my "very beautiful clothing" as my student's in China would have said, I chose the pragmatic, efficient route of shirts, shorts, and hiking wear this time.

Although I'm glad this trip wasn't our honeymoon, it does not mean that I didn't enjoy it and share lots of great memories with Jonathan. You'll have to come back next time and read part 4: Why this trip was seriously memorable and enjoyable.

The Perks of a Costco Membership - Part 2

I'm continuing my mini-series on Hawaii. If you missed the first part, you can read it here.

Now you might be thinking, what is the significance of Costco in Hawaii? Honestly, and generally speaking, nothing. However, in our specific case, it was huge.

Costco was our first stop in Maui after landing and getting our rental car. To our surprise (and glee), Costco and the airport are practically neighbors! We found a parking spot and our first stop was the food court.

Everything is infamously more expensive in Hawaii, but the food court prices at Costco are the same!

After grabbing our first meal in Maui, we proceeded to do some shopping at Costco to prep for our week long trip: a case of water (which we completely finished by the time we left!), a 5 lb bag of Cuties, and a pineapple. We weren't sure if Hawaii Costco was going to sell beef jerky at higher prices so we bought two bags in Plano and brought them over. Turns out the ones in Hawaii were slightly cheaper I think. Oh well, we didn't know. 

After buying pineapple in Hawaii, I don't think I can ever buy another pineapple elsewhere anymore. I had talked with one of my student's mom before we left and she had told me to beware of the fruit stands in Hawaii who try to rip you off. Her mother had taken a trip to Hawaii and paid $10 for a pineapple. When asked if it was any better than the pineapple in the continental U.S., she said it wasn't that different! I knew this going in and was prepared to forego my Hawaiian pineapple until I came across them at Costco: $2.50 for the most golden, ripe pineapple I've ever seen in my life.

Look at that golden color evenly distributed across the pineapple. I didn't even have to be picky - the ones in the pile all look like this! They're quite large, too. Probably twice the size of the ones I see in our local grocery stores.

In addition to being convenient to prep for a week in Hawaii with some 15+ miles of hiking across two days, our Costco membership saved us about $20 dollars. How did we do this? Costco gas.

We rented a car for the entire time were in Maui and did some preplanning. In my notes, I estimated that we were going to be driving 500 miles total. Assuming that our rental car had an 18 gallon tank and we'd get an average of 25 mpg, we would be using approximately a tank and a half of gas. Using $3.50 as the average gas price in Maui, we were projected to spend about $100 on gas for the week. I hope all my math teachers out there are proud of me for remembering how to apply my simple algebra skills into real life. :D 

It turned out that we drove about 580 miles for the week. We also did not average 25 mpg for the first 3-4 days because driving the Road to Hana only allows you to go a maximum of about 30 mph in certain places because of the tight hairpin turns. The majority of the road I think we were driving between 20-25. Luckily, we had a Costco membership, and gas was only $2.67! That's nearly a dollar savings per gallon compared to every single other gas station on the island. Our rental car ended up having an 18.5 tank capacity so that was a great estimate on my part. In the end, we spent less than $60.00 on gas for the entire week driving around the island. Huge savings for our entire trip!

I'm very thankful that we had our Costco membership for this trip. It was totally coincidental because we had no idea a year ago when we signed up for one that it would save us this much money. I also didn't think that Costco would be so conveniently located on the island to where driving by it is pretty easy when getting around. 

I will say this: the lines for gas are no better. Have patience. Lots of it.

Next time: Why I'm Glad This Trip Wasn't Our Honeymoon

Hawaii - Part 1

I want to share my trip with you all because it was a wonderful trip and truly amazing, but it's going to be mostly writing and less pictures. I am however working on putting together a physical scrapbook of our trip, so once I get that finished (hopefully soon!), please come see us and we'd love to show you our pictures. :) It's my first scrapbook in a while so I'm excited to get back into crafting.

Part 1: Pre Hawaii.

We never intended on visiting Hawaii. It actually came about as a spur-of-the-moment decision that was kind of last minute. It actually started with Iceland. We saw our friends going, and all of their pictures looked amazing - the nature, scenery, landscape, all of it. So we had tucked away somewhere in the back of our minds this idea of going to Iceland for our "big trip" we would eventually take.

Time passed. I stopped working full-time. Life got busy with other things, and we sort of forgot to look into it and plan this trip. Fast forward to February of 2017. I was on Groupon Getaways one morning browsing their trips and I came across a Costa Rica trip for $0 departing from Dallas. I freaked out, texted Jonathan, realized the dates were super soon (like two weeks out), and then saw that his passport was expiring in one month and there was no way we would get his passport renewed and back in time for the trip. They don't let you book international flights unless your passport is good for six months post return I believe. So by the time we quarreled via text message about how his passport was expiring and I couldn't book a free trip for us, the deal was gone and I was irritated about his passport.

Within the week we had his passport renewal application filled out and mailed (with my help...). However, we had pretty much given up hope on going to Iceland because we wouldn't get it back in time for a trip in March and tickets were going to be much more expensive when summer rolled around. At this point it was just getting it renewed so this wouldn't happen again for the next 10 years.

March was key. I'd been pinpointing this month since last year. Why did it have to be so specific? Because I was going to be working 75% of the weekends in February and 75% of the weekends in April, and May airfare is the equivalent of summer prices. So if we were going to make this "big trip" happen on a somewhat reasonable budget, we had to go during that specific window.

A couple days after that missed Costa Rica trip, I was notified of cheap tickets to Hawaii. Neither of us had been before, and Hawaii was exotic enough to be a "big trip" but still within the U.S. so it did not require a passport to travel. We entertained the idea of going to Hawaii and looked up some places we'd want to hit up. Well, in the time it took us to be indecisive about going, the cheap tickets sold out. So we were back at square one. However, I got the email again a few days later saying there were cheap tickets to Hawaii, this time only to the island of Maui.

We looked up destinations we'd want to hit up and booked the trip on a whim. I think I was more panicked than excited after booking the trip because I realized how expensive this trip was going to be. Cheap plane tickets was one thing. Cheap housing was another...and almost nonexistent. We ended up booking two Airbnbs for our stay, one closer to the hiking and nature, one closer to the harbor for touristy things. I wasn't sure how to feel about the Airbnbs, but it was our cheapest option so it was happening whether I liked it or not.

The entire time leading up to this trip felt surreal. People would ask me if I was excited about my trip, and I'd kind of feel very nonchalant about it. Like it was the next event that was simply just happening. Finally, the morning came where we were going to the airport to leave for Hawaii. We left Dallas, had our layover in LA, and then finally landed in Maui. That's when things started getting real. We got our rental car, drove to Costco to stock up on a few grocery items and grab a quick dinner, and then drove to our first Airbnb. As we drove down their highway at a mere 35 mph, I looked up and saw stars in the sky and the dark outline of the mountain in the distance. It was happening.

Next time: The Perks of a Costco Membership

Ice Festival!

I randomly saw something pop up on my Facebook feed today about the famous Ice Festival in China. Being a cold winter day in Texas (35°F, feels like 27°F right now) I'm quite proud to say I've lived in the city where it's held AND attended four years ago. Had some fun reminiscing over pictures. And yes, it really is -35°C (-31°F) or colder there in the winter.

The Entrance. Tickets were $50 USD when I went.

Let's count! Two pairs of socks, two pairs of leggings, one pair of jeans, one pair of track
pants (not pictured), two thermal tees, one long-sleeved shirt, one fleece pullover, one
winter jacket (not pictured), and mittens (not pictured) = 12 different
layers = how to stay warm when it's ridiculously cold.

It's really made of ice blocks that they light up.

Ice slide

Walking on ice. All night. 

Sitting on ice.

Ice tunnel.

The scope of this place is probably the size of a small neighborhood. We stayed 1.5 hours before we got too cold and didn't even explore the whole thing. 

When you're from Texas, you usually get 0 chances to hug ice that's taller
than you. If you're lucky, you get 1 in a lifetime. I'm lucky. 

Do I miss it? China, yes. The cold, most definitely not. Would I go back? Yeah :)