Showing posts with label maui. Show all posts
Showing posts with label maui. Show all posts

Monday, April 19

Beach Books and Plane Ride Flicks

Aloha friends! This week at the Cafe, we're talking about Books, Movies, and TV. And since I just got home from a lovely (though windy) week in Maui, I actually did have a little time to (partially) watch some movies and read books.

I've had TFC's own Sara Zarr's Sweethearts for a while and I've been dying to read it so I brought it along and read it in about 3 sittings. I also brought the HUGE but worth-lugging-around book, The Help by Kathryn Stockett. I only got about 1/4 through it while there, but I am looking forward to finishing it. Not only is it totally interesting, it's written so incredibly well!
Now, back to Sweethearts. Have you read it yet? If not, I totally recommend it. It's about a girl named Jennifer who used to be the chubby girl kids made fun of. She had only one friend, a boy named Cameron, who had a terribly disfunctional family life. As 10 year-olds, they realized how much they needed each other and knew their friendship was deep and special. They stuck together and survived the horrific events life threw at them. And then Jennifer got the news that Cameron was dead and a huge chunk of her died along with him. She reinvented herself and became Jenna, the girl people liked, the girl with a boyfriend, the girl who hid her true feelings within her new non-chubby self. But then something happens to disrupt this new life she's built around herself, opening old wounds, her eyes, and her heart.
Another thing I really loved about Sara's book is that like my own Miss Match, it takes place in Salt Lake City, Utah. Lots of fun, familiar references for those of us who've lived or visited the beautiful, quirky city.
Disclaimer: If my review sounds lame, keep in mind I've been on an all-night flight! :)
And speaking of flights, our flight from LAX to Hawaii had a problem with the entertainment system so we weren't able to watch movies; but on the way home, I watched half of "Precious" (I do not recommend only watching the first half because you only get the sad parts and I hear it has a happy-ish ending) and about five minutes of "Did You Hear About the Morgans," which seems like a cute romantic comedy. That's what you get when you've got 3 little boys with you, haha!
What books have you read lately? And if you've seen "Precious" or "Did You Hear About the Morgans," do you recommend I watch the rest of them?

Saturday, May 9

Aloha!!




So, this week at the café we’re talking about vacations, which, as luck would have it, is really timely since I just spent two heavenly and much needed weeks in Maui.

It was awesome!

Spectacular!

Everything I wanted my vacation to be and more!

And we enjoyed it so much, we decided to extend it just a few days further and move on to Lanai, which is really, really quiet compared to Maui but also incredibly beautiful.

And some time between lounging by the pool and lounging on the beach I realized just what it is that I love about vacation: It’s not just the break from the stresses of everyday life—nope, that’s only part of it. The main thing I like is that the vacation Me is the Me I can only dream of being in my normal life. The blissed out, uber relaxed, well-rested, well-excercised, well-meditated, well-fed, well-dressed, version of Me.

The Me that tends to vanish sometime between the drive home from the airport and the third load of vacation laundry.

Still, it’s nice to know she’s in there somewhere!

What about you? What’s your favorite part of vacation??