Happy New Year!

Just a quick drive-by post to wish everyone a safe and happy New Year! Thank you all for being a part of this wonderful blog experience of mine and for allowing me to be a part of yours. I love this community and could not ask for a more supportive bunch. Thank you for your friendship!

Wishing you all a beautiful celebration; may 2012 bring you everything your heart desires.

I'll be back tomorrow with a Year-in-Review post and my goals for the new year.

Live Aloha!

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P.S. Anyone who has been reading my blog long enough should know that I always credit a photo if it isn't my own. The photo above has been posted all over my Facebook feed and I loved it so much I am posting it here. If any of you know the source of the photo, please let me know so I can include the information here. Mahalo!

ETA: Photo credit: Wyland!

He Went Home

Today, my Farfar left us and he went home.

I've been preparing this post in my mind for the last 48 hours but no amount of preparation---even the false, bittersweet "time" that a terminal illness will buy you---can cushion the blow of losing a beloved family member.

It's after midnight, my head is pounding, my eyes are swollen and I am exhausted. The sadness that weighs heavily on my heart right now is no different and certainly no more unique than what has already been experienced by others yesterday, today, and what will unfold for someone tomorrow; my life is filled with just as much love and loss as the next. There is comfort and solidarity in this natural progression in the circle of life, but it still doesn't take away from the fact that we ALL have a story that deserves to be told...my Farfar's, included. And someday, I'll share it. For now, I am rejoicing in the fact that Farfar's soul is in much better shape at the present moment than it was only twenty-four hours before. He has lived the last five (+) years in pain, battling illness after illness, eventually succumbing to their grasp and spending every waking moment sedentary; first, in a chair and then, in his bed. And frankly, that is not a quality of life any of us deserve.

Right now, my family and I are too absorbed in today's events. It's weird, really, to feel like I am balancing on a fine line between sadness and jubilation. Sadness, because it was positively heartbreaking to know that my Farfar spent the last few weeks of his life in debilitating and excrutiating pain, and jubilation, because right now, I imagine him to be a version of his old self once again; on his knees in the garden with his hands in the earth, on the tennis court returning a serve with confidence and authority, or as Phil affectionately pointed out, "he's probably running up and down a flight of stairs right now because he CAN." And all these images? They make me smile.

The world lost a great man today. A Godly man who led an exemplary lifestyle, teaching all of us---his children and grandchildren--what it truly means to LOVE. I have benefited from his wisdom and life experience and there is so much I will take to my grave because of him; I am a better person for having had him in my life. I'm sad, yes, but I am also grateful, VERY happy and incredibly relieved to know that he is resting eternally and free from pain.

My faith teaches me that the life we live here on earth is only temporary and that our bodies are merely a vehicle of transportation, but my earthly, humanistic tendencies make me wish for longevity and permanence; it has been less than 24 hours and I already miss him dearly. But even in my sadness, I smile widely, because I feel a comfort that supercedes the here and now. Early this morning, as I was laying in bed praying, I knew that today was going to be the day. I whispered to my brothers Tony and Nick, "Farfar is coming home today...please be there to welcome him."

And in my heart of hearts, I know they did.

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After last Christmas, I ignorantly thought I was in the clear; this was not exactly how The Hubs and I were hoping to end 2011, but C'est La Vie. Life is precious and there's a lesson to be learned every day. Live, love and laugh; we are not promised tomorrow.

My posting may be sporadic over the next week as we'll be flying back to the mainland shortly, but if I'm not online before the New Year, I wish you all a blessed holiday; BE SMART AND BE SAFE.

Love and Aloha to all! xoxo

Sponsor Living Aloha in January!

It's official; the static page is up and I'm sharing it here, too.

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Aloha! I am excited to announce that Living Aloha is now accepting sponsors for blogs and small businesses!

Living Aloha is a lifestyle blog with a focus on inspiration, encouragement, art and creativity. If you have a blog or small business that lends itelf to this philosophy, let's chat...or as we say in Hawaii, Talk Story.

(Large ads include a solo feature/introductory post and option for a giveaway or product review)

(Small ads include a group feature/introductory post)

Advertising is every bit a partnership that benefits you just as much as it does me. That being said, advertising slots may be limited to ensure that as a sponsor, you receive the recognition and exposure you deserve when you purchase ad space.

If you are interested in sponsoring Living Aloha, send me an email with a link to your blog or shop and we'll talk details! Mahalo & Aloha!

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*(rates subject to change as readership grows)

It Ain't Over 'til it's Over

Christmas doesn't end until the morning I have to get up, get dressed and go back to work, right? So by these standards, Christmas isn't officially over until Tuesday morning and this holiday hangover means I'm milking tonight for all that it's worth.

Phil and I had a wonderful weekend together, putting life on "pause" and celebrating the holiday steeped in our own traditions. We spent Christmas Eve at home, feasting like royalty and watching our Christmas-Eve-Movie for the ninth year in a row (it never gets old) and the morning of Christmas had us lounging at home listening to Christmas music while Phil cooked a Russian breakfast. Bliss.

(My one and only Starbucks during the Red Cup Season)

In years past, there is that window of time beginning on Christmas Day, long after the presents have been unwrapped and the excitement has whittled down, when I find myself feeling a little sad that the build-up has reached it's peak and all that's left to do is wallow in the wake of torn wrapping paper and fragrant candles that have burned themselves out. I think about those family members who've been laid to rest or those I didn't get to see over the holidays and if I am not careful, it's easy to start feeling sad about it. But this year I promised myself I wouldn't give in; I told myself I'd live in The Present and savor every moment of the holiday. I was gonna Choose Joy and mean it.

So I did. I stayed off the computer all weekend (save for our Skype calls with family) and spent a lot of time in prayer. And it felt good.

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I still have a couple of hours left in today; it's just after 10:30pm, so technically, I've still got time on my side. So I'm going to sign off and finish this holiday celebration properly. I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas.

(Thank you so much to everyone who took the time to read and comment about my Farfar. I appreciate your thoughts and prayers. Unfortunately, things are looking worse, but we are filled with gratitude and love for having him with us as long as we have.)

My Farfar

See that beautiful man in this photo? That's my Farfar (grandfather, in Danish).

My grandfather isn't doing well these days. This is a man who has battled and overcome colon and prostate cancer, but who was diagnosed with liver cancer a month ago. He has experienced a brutally unforgiving and rapid decline in his health and well-being in the past two weeks and tonight, I can't NOT talk about it. My Farfar is dying.

I've been in denial about this for a while, but deep down, at my core, I am so sad. Sad for my grandmother, my parents, my family. I've mixed emotions at the moment, but for now, all I can do is pray for peace, comfort and healing.

Someday I will bring myself to share what an incredible human being he is and what a gift he has been to my entire family. But for now, I am shutting down for the weekend, to celebrate Jesus and the life of my grandfather.

Merry Christmas. And blessings to all.

Weekly Be-Happy-Tudes! (Vol. 14)

Happy Aloha Friday and Eve-before-Christmas-Eve! It's been a good day so far but what I'm really looking forward to is a weekend with my Love, celebrating Christmas together, making Skype calls to our families on the mainland and enjoying the traditions we've started since we moved here in '06.

It seems kind of bizarre that Christmas is already here; really, where does the time go? It's been a crazy month and despite being apart from our families, we've still really been able to enjoy the season this year and that makes me so happy. Of course, it helps that I've been the obnoxious girl who has listened to Christmas music every single day for the last month (both at home and at work) and that our home always smells like spiced apples, vanilla sugar cookies, gingerbread or evergreen pine, thanks to my obsessive candle-purchases. I really love all the delicious little details this time of year.

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As for my Be-Happy-Tudes this week? I'm doin' it Instagram style.

1) I love my Momma and stepdad so much; they sent our kitty a box of Christmas presents, too. With tags that read: "From Grandma and Grandpa" (seriously, how cute are they?)
2) A "Whatever's left in the fridge" kind of salad. The blueberries made it delightful!
3) December 22nd: blue skies and fat palm trees.
4) The Shop Dog. I love this pup like my own. I want to take her home with me!
5) This sweet little girl who has so much love to give.
6) Receiving a box of Kilwin's fudge from my aunt and uncle in Michigan.
7) Mishka. Check him out on Pandora. You're welcome.
8) Accompanying The Hubs on a videography job. TOTALLY not my thing, but it was pretty cool, I have to admit.
9) Vroom vroom.
10) I did it; I lifted the sugar ban and had chocolate in bed. And it was awesome.
11) I've been productive in the studio!
12) Rainbows...
13) ...that make me pull over on the side of the road to photograph.
14) The first piece in my "Be Inspired" series (coming to the shop in 2012).
15) Be inspired...
16) Happiness in the palm of my hand.
17) The second piece in my "Be Inspired" series.
18) First year making ornaments and they did so well!

Yeah. It's been a good week. Happy Day to you and yours. :)

Blog-xymoron: Blogging Openly, in Secret

I'm taking a quick break from basking in the glow of the holiday season to ask you something: How many of you keep your blog and social-media-presence a "secret" from your family or real-life friends?

I have conveniently (and purposely) kept this blog from all but a handful of family members and real-life friends, but a thread has been pulled and this master plan of mine is beginning to unravel. My worlds are colliding!

{via}

A friend of mine (who doesn't know I blog) mentioned the other day that she really liked my Christmas ornaments. I think the color may have drained from my face as I tried unsuccessfully to appear nonchalant and ask her how she knew about them. She smiled and said, "From your pictures...I think I saw them on Facebook." This would be incorrect, because to date, I have not linked my blog, Twitter account OR Etsy shop to my personal Facebook account. And I have no idea how she came to know this.

I'm not exactly sure why I've withheld these facets about myself from my real-life friends; I've always considered myself a fairly open book and I have nothing to hide, but there has always been a sense of reservation. I started blogging for myself and it seemed convenient to keep the blog public because I knew that this act of writing to nobody and anybody would be understood in the blogosphere: millions of others do the exact same thing, but by doing this, I created a "world" separate from the one I live in-the-flesh.

I suppose if I'm being honest with myself, I can admit that I'm a little embarrassed to come clean and share these precious links with those in my life because I'm afraid they won't "get it". They won't understand that because I love to write, I write about anything and I write about everything. And I'm worried they won't understand that Twitter is about networking and not narcissism, or why it is necessary to take photos of my food (something 99.9% of all bloggers do at some point), or why I carry a camera (sometimes two) with me every.single.day, or how it is possible that an online-friend can turn into a true, real-life friend because we've all been warned that bloggers can also be axe-murderers in disguise. I'm not ashamed by any means of what I do or the friendships I've made simply because I've chosen to share my heart with virtual strangers over the internet...and these are just two reasons why I am beginning to think that the jig is up.

Now if I can just bring myself to post the link on my Facebook account. It's as simple as a cut-and-paste, right? :)

Well, Hello...

Wow, it feels like I've been so far removed from the blogging world for ages (funny, it's only been a week); we have been busy.busy.busy, but that is par for the course this time of year. We've been diligent little worker-bees, putting in extra hours at our day jobs and side biz, visiting with friends, braving the spell of consumerism to finish up our Christmas shopping and all while still trying to enjoy the essence of the holiday season. I am spent, but it's all good.

I have had my Holiday moments, where my cheer is temporarily trumped by momentary insanity, all thanks to arrogant drivers who cut me off, rude temperaments in the retail world or uncooperative umbrellas that decide to FULLY OPEN right when you get into your car out of the pouring rain, thus drenching the entire inside of your car and the outfit you so carefully put together in an effort to feel cute. But like I said, it's all good...and I'm gonna have myself a Merry Little Christmas, even if it kills me. :)

In the midst of this crazy time of year, where it is so easy to lose sight of the importance of what this season is all about, there are moments when I feel like I am touched by the hand of God, Himself. Yesterday, during a dreaded trip to the store (for wrapping paper and gift tags) which had me brooding the entire drive, I turned the corner and BAM. I saw this:

And right there, under my breath, a "WOW" escaped my lips and I smiled. I parked my car, got out, sought the cover of a nearby tree to avoid the rain and took multiple photos of this masterpiece. The brilliant arc of colors were so grandiose, I could have sworn an audible energy reverberated above me. In that moment, my mood was lifted and all was right in the world again.

God is good.

The Ripple Effect: Be the Change

When I find something worth sharing, I can't rest until I do. While searching for articles on creativity, I discovered this little gem of a short film that inspires me to get out there and make a change, because kindness has a ripple effect.

Be the change; it always comes full-circle.

Enjoy.

Interested in Sponsoring?

After months of careful consideration, I've decided to open the blog up to sponsors beginning in the new year. Details to come, but I thought I'd put the feelers out there.

Comments are disabled, so if you're interested, shoot me an email so we can talk deets. :)
I look forward to partnering with you!

Weekly Be-Happy-Tudes! (Vol.13)

It's been a while since I dedicated an entire post to the simple joys that have made me smile recently, so although it is long overdue, the sentiment is the same: I have much to be happy about!

Topping my list of happies is the fact that I made my husband cry this weekend. I had us both laughing so hard we had tears streaming down our faces...and this side-splitting laughter is, quite simply, one of THE best, simple joys on earth. Have you laughed like this recently?

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My list of Happies for this installation of the Be-Happy-Tudes have all blurred together; I have a hard time separating them from my everyday life because there seem to be too many of them to hi-light; in short, life has been good to me.

Today was rainy and gray, which set the stage for a day spent indoors, cozied up in our PJ's, listening to the sound of the rain and doing a whole lotta nothing together. Every now and then, we all need days like these; guilt-free days of lounging around the house, stretching the hours of sweet nothingness, and doing all the things you want to, and not a lick of what you need to. Life is too short.

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'Been feeling a little out of the blogging-loop lately; I am dreadfully behind in emails and making my blog-rounds but as I'm sure many of you can attest, this time of year is all-too consuming. Although Phil and I are behind in the Christmas shopping program, we're plugging away and getting things accomplished, little by little. If we're lucky, we'll have our shopping done and shipped this week (fingers crossed).

Have a happy Monday, friends!

Pup on Board: from Service to Surfice

This will be a quickie drive-by post until I have time this evening to catch up around these parts. I miss you folks and hope that you're well! For now, if you've got five minutes to spare, click on the video below; it's a feel-good-warm-fuzzies kind of video, but not without the requisite tears. I don't know why I do this to myself. I want a pup in a bad, bad way.

Happy Thursday, friends!

Holiday Cheer

Despite my disbelief and random musings about where the entire year has gone, I am enjoying the here and now and am fully immersed in the present. Although this time of year brings with it a flurry of events and obligations, the real reason for the season makes me want to turn inward; to slow down, find my center and be still. I am feeling especially instrospective lately, my soul craving a sense of peace that only my faith can provide. I've got things weighing heavily on my heart this year, but I am still happy.

And how can I not be? I am listening to Christmas music on a daily basis, we've been getting a lot of rain in the evenings which casts a winter-y spell on us Upcountry folks, and we've had the pleasure of spending time with family and friends visiting from the mainland. We've been busy, but it's all good.

Our visitors have since come and gone, so Phil and I had a mellow weekend; we spent it recuperating and putting the house back together again, because every room seems to have become a "catch-all" for everything it shouldn't. We cleaned and decluttered and I spent nearly all of Sunday reorganizing my art studio to make it a more functional space...and I'm overcome by a fresh sense of inspiration and motivation; so many new projects to come in 2012!

On Saturday night, we finally put up our tree:

...you know you want one! They're still available in my Etsy shop.

Now with the rooms aglow by the flicker of candles and the lights on our tree, our home feels much more Christmas-y. Our tree is beautiful, but a total fake (real tree + curious kitty = vomitous puddles), so all that is missing is the sweet scent of holiday pine. On my list of To-Do items for today is also the project of finding just the right candle to accomplish this.

I am looking out the window right now; the sun is shining and the skies are blue, but I'm going to channel the weather of Christmas on the mainland and pretend that it is cold and blustery outside. I am going to stop off at Starbucks for a Chamomile tea and then work my way down my To-Do List.

Good Monday to you...make it happy.

Video: Live Aloha!

Aloha ke Akua (God is Love)

This is going to be a quickie post because it is after midnight and I am pooped. Two things:

1) Thank you, thank you...Thank You for your thoughtful, loving and kind comments from yesterday's post. I will never be able to fully convey just how moved I was by your words; I read some of your comments/emails to Phil (through tears!) prefacing them with these five words: "This is why I blog." I love you all. Truly.

2) As if you haven't already noticed, my husband possesses the creative gene; he is as addicted to videography as I am to photography and blogging...and I think our passions make for some good blog material. Phil put together this video as a little snapshot of this here blog of mine; I think he did a great job at capturing the essence of exactly who I am and why I blog:

When I began blogging a little over a year ago, I promised myself that this blog would be as transparent as possible; it would be a compilation of all that my life has to offer; the good, the bad and the indifferent. Authenticity is (and always will be) a priority.

Thank you all for reading what I have to say!