she said...

 so Mark and I have been keeping a little secret...now that the family knows we will out ourselves to the facebook world and let you all know we are happily engaged ♥

 ~facebook message

we are back from an absolutely fantastic trip. not only did we have a delightful time, we had even more delightful news to share with our loved ones, both family and friends alike. it occurred soon after my last post.

we were hiking the kalalau trail. a hike i was later told is one of the top 10 hardest hikes in the usa, and rated 9/10 in difficulty. sigh. needless to say the reviewers were right. the combination of inclines, steep drops and (myself) dropping the camera in a creek, left us pretty weary (me a little worse than mark). things started to brighten up near the end of the day as mark set up camp in a nice solitary spot and we had supper under the sunset. we even saw some humpback whales breaching in the ocean.

the next morning being relaxed and feeling MUCH better, mark and i sat on a part of a wall that composed a heiau built by hawaiian natives long ago (mark wrote that bit...totally doesn't sound like me, he he he). i have to admit (although i really hate being a mush) it was an absolute perfect day. huge blue sky, sun shining, ocean in the background (with more whales surfacing) and being totally isolated from much of humanity. we sat there taking it all in when mark got up and said "tracey i love you, if you are willing to come here with me, then i will go anywhere with you. will you marry me?". then he got down on both knees with a ring in one hand. i wonder what my answer was...;)

YES! a very happy day. nothing more to say. pure bliss!

i later told him jokingly that i would be more than willing to go on more hikes if i have the promise of more shiny things in my future...we shall see about that one!

i hope you enjoy our mushy story, i promise i won't get totally mush on all of you in the future. however, mark did say we are allowed to be like this since we just got engaged!

love

aloha

thanks to my marvelous brother, it looks like i am able to make a blogpost (or maybe two) on this trip! thanks for lending us the laptop jim...its been a lifesaver a couple times thus far. we have arrived on the island of kaua'i. so far we've been having a marvelous time. it was a rough start when our plane got delayed (for six hours) in san fransico leaving us wondering about our connecting flight and haggling with our rental car company. BUT all worked out so the focus on the negative is gone.

yesterday was a day of rain, humidity and activity. we saw many sights with the fog giving a feeling of mysticism to the scenery. very nice! we took a try at paddle boarding. hard to balance but tons of fun! mark even attempted to surf...he did pretty good. we rented from a lady who moved here from b.c. in 1973. this has led me to coercing mark to live here...so far it is not working! :)

today was another busy day without the rain. we visited queens bath, kilauea lighthouse and (of course) melvin the parrot. not to mention drinking fresh coconut milk from the very thing itself! our activity of the day was surfing on hanalei beach. very fun although my wrist is paying for it now and probably will pay more tomorrow. i have many months after this for it to heal, right? i can already see mom rolling her eyes.

that sums up the trip thus far. but i must mention the food before i sign off. best burgers were from bubba's. we have tried ahi tuna (fabulous) and onaga (more fabulous). cooked with coconut oil (i think i going to bring it home by the gallon, jk) and speaking of coconut, we have enjoyed some coconut dates. everything has been way to good to us! it has been nice to stay in this condo (it has a dishwasher...eek) so we can cook all our meals for dinner...really do i ever have to go home???

tomorrow is the kalalau hike. hopefully all fairs well!

lots of love...till next time

post valentine's day

hope everyone had a very happy heart day. everything was pretty laid back here. mark once again came through with his personalized cards that i love ever so much. that, indian food (again), with a little bit of chocolate in the mix made me a very happy gal....ON TOP OF THAT, i was lucky enough to receive another valentine in the mail (LOVE YOU MOM AND DAD XOXOXOXOX)

actually speaking of my lovely parents. i was talking to them the night before and joked around with mom that valentine's was really for the women. therefore, girls shouldn't feel obligated to get their partners anything. guess what. that is just what she did, he he. dad gave her a card and roses, then asked if he got anything...mom sold me down the river saying that i said it was a women's day. lol. little did i know she would take me literally. ahh you both make me laugh so hard (especially since i talked to my beloved father today and he doesn't look/sound too crushed).

gotta go now. pretty tired since i have been studying (research no less). have to get as much down now before i see the sun, surf, sand and everything else wonderful that starts with an s!

love

hearts to you

since this blog is 1/3 love i thought i would make a shout out to all those people loving or being loved whether you are a:

mother, father, sister, brother, son, daughter, boyfriend, girlfriend, grandma, grandpa, uncle, aunt, cousin friend, co-worker or a lovely little furry creature!

the list can go on and on. just know that you are loved!  

happy valentine's day!

guess what?

1. the sun is shining. blue skies. melted snow. (maybe a run outside pretty soon)
2. had a movie date this weekend.
3. got him to watch one of my favourite friday night shows (he he he) and i watched one of his.
4. i am going on a trip in exactly 7 days. hiking. beaches. sun. relaxation. 
5. i am finished my paper. really it doesn't get any better than that sentence.
6. the swelling in my wrist has gone done. can't quite flex yet, but i am feeling wednesday will be my day!
7. we have left over indian food in the fridge at this very moment.
8. FINALLY jimi jam is coming over tonight!

THINGS ARE LOOKING UP! :)

be careful where you step!

hello again!

its been awhile i know BUT i do have the best excuse. i could only type with one hand. yes, that is correct, the other had undergone a sprain/strain. i don't know really, the x-rays just indicated there was soft tissue damage but no (thankfully) broken bones.

so how did this disaster occur? one word: treadmill. yes, i fell victim to a treadmill injury. i have heard of such injuries. AND i am now in good enough humor to laugh about it (the first two days...maybe not so much). what went down was this. i signed out treadmill number 6 (one i probably will never run on again). i got all my stuff ready, put my book down on the floor. stepped on to the treadmill and soon found myself on the gym floor. humiliated, shocked, embarrassed and wondering what the heck happened. one of the ladies at the gym ran right towards me. apparently she was working on the treadmill and left it running but went to go get some things. initially i felt a pain in my wrist but i thought i could work it out. so what did i do? continued to work-out for 40 minutes (was i in shock or just crazy?). the ladies at the gym came over to see how i was doing and i told them i am fine but i will know more the next day if any injuries set in. in seriousness i really just wanted them to go away because i was so embarrassed. i know they were concerned and trying to help but i just felt like a tool. everyone around me pretended like nothing ever occurred and just worked out their stress (although i am sure they had quite a laugh that morning) i think them working out just made me more self-conscience (but really i think if they all stopped i would have cried...lol). as the day progressed and the pain started to set in, in my wrist...i realized that i really did hurt it (and concluded that i must have landed on it). there were other sore tendons the next morning but nothing that a week of rest (i am sure) couldn't cure. but i did start to worry about being able to type AND being able to surf on our vacation two weeks from now.

the good news is i can type again. in great timing too as i really have to wrap up that (never-ending) paper. there is a bit of mild pain but not as bad as the last two days. i can't really move it back and forth or weight bear...but i can get my paper done so as far as i am concerned i am feeling (SO MUCH) better than yesterday and the day before.

plus the bonus sympathy from my parents is always good. times like these i need their comfort! love you both and thanks for being there!!!!

love

funkless

isn't it amazing how a bit of music can brighten your day? seriously puts me in a happy mood again! love it. that and a fun superbowl party with friends!



love

warning...this is a vent post

i have a paper due next week. i think i have paper bloc? is that possible? its been awhile since i have had this much difficulty writing a paper. maybe its because i have been in the clinical setting and out of the academic aspect of writing. or my mind is on more tropical matters. regardless this paper has become the bain of my exisitence. the research part has been okay but the words on the screen...grrr. i find myself distracted by movies, music, food, grocery shopping, chores, blogs that really don't need to be watched, listened, ate, bought, done or written...but regardless.

on the bright side of things. THIS really is my only big project this semester besides some group work that needs to be completeted. that is the focus right now for me. get it done and i am free.
i have one more week before it is due...wish me luck! (and hopefully the funk will be gone)
love

just because...

- i don't really know what to post
- the countdown is on till i see some beaches of my own (eek...16 days!)
- i really miss those sunny skies and said beaches

i will give you this picture of a time so long ago...but really not!

love

the week's song...

one of my most favourite songs right now! love this song. i pump it really loud and dance like a fool! poor mark and kitty! :)



love