Hau’oli La Ho’omakika’i!

Hau’oli La Ho’omakika’i is how you say "Happy Thanksgiving" in Hawaiian. No one has actually ever said that to me, so I don't know how it is pronounced. Starting tomorrow, people will start saying Mele Kalikimaka (Merry Christmas). There are no R's, C's or S's in the Hawaiian language, so you substitute L for R, K for C, and K for S too (or something like that). Bottom line is you end up with Mele Kalikimaka, which is a direct conversion of the phrase Merry Christmas, sounds kind of like Merry Christmas, and is easy to say. Hau’oli La Ho’omakika’i is a loose translation of the phrase "giving thanks" rather than a direct conversion of the term Happy Thanksgiving; it's hard to say, so no one says it. Well, now you know more about the Hawaiian language than I'm sure you ever cared to know. :)

We're having a lovely time here. So far we've just been relaxing and doing a few repairs on the condo. We really did miss some snowy, cold weather in Seattle. Buster's Auntie Pam sent me a photo of him playing in the snow. Have you ever seen anything as adorable as my little dog??? Look at the snow on his chin...I just want to reach out and give him a big hug. (click on the photo to get a really good close up of him)

Since being here in Hawaii, I have walked every day (except today...today, I'm taking a break and being lazy...my personal way of giving thanks...ha ha). Most days my walks are about 4 miles (8,500 steps). On Tuesday, I went with some other folks on a walk around Diamond Head Crater, which ended up being 8.5 miles (17,500 steps). (On the map, our condo is next to Fort DeRussy, so we walked down Kalakaua, around Diamond Head on Diamond Head Road, and then back via Ala Wai.) On that particular day, Hub and I also went shopping, so according to Bodybugg, the step total was 23,000 for that day.

I've also been eating very healthy. Hub and I only had one very minor slip as far as eating sweets goes…one day we each had a small ice cream cone from McDonalds.

Later today, we're going down the hall to celebrate Thanksgiving with some friends. Hub (my personal Iron Chef) helped the guys get the turkey going and will make the gravy, and he's also going to make an asparagus frittata. I expect there will be some pumpkin pie, so I probably will have to eat a piece. :)

Tomorrow, I will get my little plastic tree out of the storage unit and decorate it with a lot of cute Hawaiian ornaments that I've collected over the last 5 years. This little tree always makes me feel happy and makes our condo seem more like "home."

So, now I want to say what I'm thankful for: My husband, my dog, my job, my therapist Dr D, my health, my friends (both in real life and in the blogosphere), my wonderful life, my...well, my everything (yes, even my mom who makes me crazy but I love her still). The fact is, I'm the luckiest woman in the world. (Oh, I'm also thankful for my naturally curly hair which loves the Hawaiian heat and humidity. Every day someone makes an envious comment about my hair, which has taken on a Shirley Temple-like appearance.)

Anyway, I hope everyone is having Hau’oli La Ho’omakika’i! (Go ahead, just try to say it, I dare you!)