Sorry Dad: Kitchen Light Edition

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I was deep cleaning the kitchen last week and I was just looking around, daydreaming as usual. If I had it my way and money was no object I would tear down the wall where the fridge is, rip out the peninsula, add more cabinets to the red wall, put an island in the middle, get a farmhouse sink, granite countertops, glass tile back splash, recessed lights (except for the hanging lanterns over the island)... I could probably go on all day.


But Brian and I decided we aren't going to spend significant amounts of money in this house because A) we would like to move in the next couple of years and B) we have a lot of other things we would rather do for now, like travel or spoil the dog or prepare for our future family. So we will maintain the house, but not go overboard.


When I looked up that day though, I noticed something that bothered me, and would be an easy fix...

That hideous kitchen light! With the help of my brother and dad, we painted all of the cabinets last winter. They were really old, crappy dark brown wood and the kitchen was all dark and depressing. So now the cabinets were looking pretty sweet, but that light sticks out like a sore thumb.


In the spirit of not spending a lot of money, I went down to my garage and grabbed some of the old cabinet paint (Valspar Chef White in case you were wondering). Side note, there are about 873 different colors of white paint out there. Picking one is stressful. For real. I decided that painting the box around the hideous florescent light would help it blend in and give the room the quick little make over that I so badly desired.

I primed it and did a first coat yesterday. When Brian came home from work and saw little specks of paint on me, he looked at me kinda sideways and said, "What did you paint today??" I told him he had to find it. :)


He figured it out pretty quickly, approved (too bad if he didn't, I guess!) and so I did a second coat today.

Better, no? I mean, it still wouldn't be my first choice, but I can live with it. Here's where the sorry dad comes in- I didn't put down a drop cloth, I got some paint on the dog, I skipped forgot (?) to sand the wood first, and since I am kinda short, I pretty much teeter-tottered on the edge of the counter because it made it easier to reach than the step stool...

I knew that Kinesiology degree would come in handy someday. And to think I once questioned why I had to do a balance beam routine complete with cartwheel dismount... real life application right here, folks. ;-)

Honeymoon Part 6: Final Days in Hawaii

Brian and I had a snorkeling trip already lined up for Saturday morning, so it was another early morning wake up call! We met at the dock at 7:00 and began to board our boat at 7:30. We were heading off to the island of Lanai...

  That shadow in the background is Maui. Our first stop on our snorkeling tour was at this little bay that was closer to facing Maui, but the water was a bit choppy. We stayed there for maybe a half hour and then headed back to the boat where they had fruit and some delicious Hawaiian baked goods for us. We headed past the 80 foot high Sweetheart Rock and heard the legend...

A ravishing young princess from Maui, was captured by a young warrior from Lanai. He took her as his wife and brought her back to his home island. He was so stricken with her beauty that he was afraid to let other men see her, and thus he confined the princess to a sea cave near the rock.

One day, as the warrior was away, the weather suddenly changed drastically, and the raging surf began to pound this side of the island. The warrior rushed back to the cave, but it was too late: His beloved Puu Pehe had drowned. Heartbroken, he retrieved her body and, with the help of the gods, climbed the steep rock island, where he buried her in a tomb. Overcome with grief, the warrior then leapt off the rock to his death.

 Sounds pretty morbid. At least it was just our wallets and phones that were stolen...

Anyway, the second stop was absolutely beautiful... the clearest water I have ever seen anywhere.

I don't know if you can see all the different colors in the water behind us, but there were different colors of coral and algae and animals... it was pretty awesome.

Doesn't it look little pool water??

We were pretty happy. :D

By the time we got back to Maui, it was mid-afternoon and we were pretty wiped out. We spent the rest of the day hanging out and walking around Whaler's Village, which is basically an outdoor shopping mall.

 We picked up some Chinese food and tried to eat on the beach while we watched the sun set. But then some wind kicked up and sandy orange chicken is the anti-delicious, so we moved back into the tables at Whaler's Village. The sun hadn't really set yet when we finished, so we still had time to watch. And I had time to sneak in a couple more pictures...

Sunday was our last full day in Hawaii. Apparently, any Rodner trip to Hawaii cannot be complete without a trip to Duke's, so we went there for breakfast. And dinner. (What? We like it!)

It was Father's Day. I knew my did would appreciate it! :)

We spent the rest of the day walking the beaches and swimming. It was nice. I dared Brian to jump off of Black Rock, but he "didn't want to leave our stuff alone." So he was either really paranoid or really scared. I'm still not sure! ;-)

Photo Credit

And that was our last day there. Kind of bittersweet. We both loved the time we got to spend with each other and we did have a lot of fun. It just sucks that our trip was tainted by the robbery.

Come Monday morning, we were more than ready to see our dog and lay in our own bed. Our flight was at 1:05, so we still had the morning to lounge. We had to have the rental car back by 11, but we were dressed and ready to be out and about at 9, so on our way back to the airport, I suggested that we stop at a beach and just hang out for a bit. Along the highway, there are little pull outs were people basically drive right out onto the sand, park their car, and hang out in their own little beach cove.

I think those objects under the tree are cars... that's basically what I'm talking about...

So Brian and I find this perfect spot, right in between two other cars, just to sit and chill for a bit. We're not even pulled in as far as the other cars when Brian mutters something to the effect of, "Oh shit." And just like that, we were stuck in the sand. I got out and tried to push the car while Brian put it in gear. I moved it maybe an inch. So we switched. Same result. That car wasn't going anywhere.

So while Brian was cursing our luck and worrying about not making it to the airport, I was trying to locate an Auto Club contact on my freshly recovered (thank god) phone. Just as I found a number and started to dial, a man pulls up with a huge diesel truck. At first, he scared me. And given our past Maui track record, I don't feel bad about that. I was very apprehensive. But he approached Brian and said he noticed we were stuck and could he help... OF COURSE YOU CAN HELP!!!

As he and Brian tied the rental to his truck, his wife and baby popped out and that made me feel even better. I spoke to her for a moment and then once the man pulled the car free, the 4 of us chatted for a minute and we told them all that had happened and how we thought we would now miss the flight. They felt bad and the man said he hoped that we wouldn't think poorly of Maui because they're not all bad people there and that he also hoped our luck would turn around now.

I think it did!

We made it home safely and even a little bit early. Brian's parents picked us up, and then it was off to my parents' house to pick up our pooch! We missed him! This is like, the next day... Brian and Kevin both fell asleep on me on the couch! Silly boys! I love them!