It was a dreary day in London Town

The way to find out about your happiness is to keep your mind on those moments when you feel most happy, when you really are happy- not excited, not just thrilled, but deeply happy. This requires a bit of self-analysis. What is it that makes you happy? Stay with it, no matter what people tell you. This is what I call "following your bliss." --Joseph Campbell--

My blog title probably contradicts happiness but can you be happy when it dark and dreary outside? The weather out lately has been swirling wind, tornado warnings (almost), funnel clouds looming above us. It gets hot, then it rains and hails and is miserable outside where you can only sit at the window and stare outside in hopes that the storm will last a matter of minutes. (like the usually do).

So are you happy? Do you know what happiness really is? Has happiness found you lately?
This is just one of my ponderings for the day since my blog is titled ponderings and perceptions.

Tagged

So Mick tagged me.

The idea is to share six unimportant things about myself and then to tag six other people to do the same thing.
Here are the rules:
1. Link back to the person who tagged you.
2. Post these rules on your blog.
3. Share six unimportant things about yourself.
4. Tag six random people at the end of your entry

So, 6 unimportant things about my life:
1. I drive a black car
2. I live in a house
3. I love green tea
4. Spring is my favorite time of year but I am quite of sick of the rain we're getting.
5. I could survive on a deserted island and be resourceful
6. Other cultures are quite fascinating to me

I tag Adrienne, Garth, Sonya, Ashley, Jeremia, and anyone else who really feels like wasting five minutes of their lives.

Did you miss me?

So it's been awhile ( a month) and my blog is yet again neglected. I think I just haven't had anything to write about. That or I am too busy to write anything. I cannot really say what is exciting in my life at the moment either, it doesn't seem like there is too much going on that out is of the normal for me.
So I guess for now I will leave my blog this way until I have something creative or intelligent to say at least.

A slideshow of Hula Hannah's Island tour.

This is the rental car, I considered allowing her to ride on top of the car but it was quite windy that day and I didn't want to damage the paint on the car.

Our first stop along the road that winds down all the ocean. What a view.
This is Hula Hannah riding in the car...no dashboard riding for her.
We made a stop at a very mountainous region...actually it was the wall in the bathroom...(haha)
China Man Hat, a prominent landmark off the coast of Oahu. Can you see how it got it's name?
We were off to the famous Kualoa Ranch. A very interesting place if you have time to stop and spend there. You can ride horses, go on ATV's, take a jungle ride, a boat ride and my favorite the movie tour of the ranch.

Pearl Harbor was partially filmed in the bunker behind the sign.
Remember this log? It was in the movie Jurassic park.
Close up shot.
Here we are at the mormon temple in Hawaii. Hula Hannah had never seen it before.
The North Shore....no waves and very few sea shells to collect...(haha)

Having a Pineapple float at the Dole Factory. It was really tasty.
Hula Hannah wanted to pose with the pineapple. There were too many to choose from so we found this rather small one and she was happy.
She wanted to go swimming with the carp but I couldn't let her....they were quite hungry vicious little fish.
Taking a rest in the shade.
That is the Royal Hawaiian hotel, our next door neighbor here on the beach. Yes it is a PINK hotel.

That concludes the tour of the island for today.

At the beach and the boat.

We spent sometime exploring the beach. Sitting, watching the waves, the people and enjoying the scenery. In the background is diamond head volcano. Hula Hannah was wondering if we would find a live volcano yet to get our picture by, but I think we're on the wrong island for that.
Spending time by the pool is another favorite past time of Hula Hannah's, only because it is not as hot by the pool and the sun is not shining directly down onto you until about noon. So it is the perfect spot in the shade to rest and relax and the pool is nice and cold. Hula Hannah wouldn't go swimming today though.
Hula Hannah wanted to go out on a catamaran ride, so being the island adventurers that we are, we took a chance on this catamaran that parks on the beach near our hotel. The trip was enjoyable with huge swells and big splashes. Hula Hannah seemed to have fun until a fellow passanger decided to lose his lunch all over the deck. Hula Hannah thought she was going to gag but luckily made it back to shore before she lost her lunch.
Docking back to shore...she's glad to be off the catamaran.
We followed our ride with a trip to try some of the local cuisine (hehe). Let's just say it is one meal that will not be repeated on the island. (The corn on the cob though was good.)

Hula Hannah at the beach.

Hula Hannah wanted to go to the beach. Sitting, listening to the waves crash onto the beach is peaceful. She was getting restless though, so she wanted to go for a swim in the ocean.
She insisted I take a picture of her by the water. This picture was taken moments before a huge wave crashed into the beach and attempted to carry her out to sea. The rescue was quite dramatic and hula hannah was quite shaken. Hula Hannah said she would no longer be swimming in the ocean for fear that she might almost drown again.

When we returned to our beach mats, she wanted me to build her a sand structure. Having no bucket or shovel, this turned out to be a difficult task, the only structure I could build was a wall to keep the water off of our beach mats. She just sat and played her ukelele while I constructed this sand structure.
She wanted to go for a walk along the beach wearing my flip flops. I said that it was too hot to be wandering around the sun aimlessly because she refused to go walk down by the water which would have been better because that way you can at least cool off. So we did not end up going for a walk in the sand, she just ended up sitting on top of my flip flops during our stay on the beach that morning.
We did end up going for a walk later on in the day. She found another waterfall that was hidden behind the marketplace. So we took another picture with her and a waterfall.
Along our walk we found some volcanic rocks and plant life. She said her home use to be hidden amongst thick dense jungle and her and her siblings would have to walk miles across volcanic rock to fetch water and fresh fruits such as papaya, mango and banana's to eat. She spent sometime sitting on the volcanic rock reminising about when she was a young girl.
When we got back to the hotel, hula hannah helped write the blog about her day, just to make sure I didn't miss any detail.

Tune in later for the catamaran ride....

Welcome to the adventures of Hula Hannah!

First let me introduce you to my travel companion, her name is Hula Hannah. She is a minature hula girl that I found searching through one of the many bargain places across the way from my hotel. The minute I found her I knew that we would have many great adventures on the island together.
Hula Hannah has unfortunately made herself very comfortable at the hotel that I am staying at. She is a bed hog, she likes her space and likes to be tucked in at night. She never stops playing her ukelele either. There is always a noise coming from her direction....even when I am attempting sleep at night....it is starting to get old and annoying.

In the morning she likes to be out on the balcony to just sit and collect her thoughts with the wonderful view of the ocean from our hotel balcony. During this time she likes to sit and be undisturbed and play her ukelele...so I usually leave her outside for a period of time in the morning while I get ready for my day.
Hula Hannah likes to eat a large breakfast. She likes her pancakes with her hashbrown and as well the orange juice which tastes a bit like something that you find expired in the back of your refrigerator....yes the OJ is nasty. But Hula Hannah is also a huge fan of pineapple. She won't let me take a picture of her eating pineapple, but I will see if I can sneak a picture of her on a different occassion.
After breakfast we took a stroll near the shops and she found these lovely water falls with a mosaic backdrop and giant carp fish. She took photo op's and played her ukelele for money, unfortunately nobody gave her any money for her songs. I guess she really isn't that great of a ukelele player...but don't tell Hula Hannah that.
Hula Hannah wanted me to put a flower behind her ear....as all the islanders and tourists wear a hibiscus flower behind their ears. So we took a moment and took a photo of her with her new flower. It did get to heavy for her to carry, so we left it for someone else to wear.
Later on in the day, we ended up meeting with Hula Hannah's hula friend and they danced the night away and she continued to play her ukelele.

To be continued...Tune in next time for the adventure with Hula Hannah at the beach.