Spreading the Aloha Spirit

I love to travel. And when ever I do, I always bring along with me several boxes of chocolate covered macadamia nuts. My favorite brand is the Hawaiian Host "tiki" box. (The MacNut Crunch is also really good). I'm usually traveling to see friends so they usually get a few boxes. And I'll leave some for the housekeeper at the hotel or give them to people who helped me.

A few years ago, I had gone to Chicago on business and had taken my family. It was a very cold May. (When you're used to high 70's to low 80's, the high 60's are pretty cold!). We packed a lot into the four days that we were there. So at the end of the four days, we were all very tired and ready to go home.

We went to Avis to return our car before heading to the airport. I walked into the office because I wasn't sure if I had gotten the right rate on the car. The gal at the counter barely looked at me and seemed to be having a bad day. I was happy to know that in 10 hours I was going to be home so I wasn't particularly bothered by her attitude. I thanked her for her help and picked up my carry on to leave. That's when I remembered that I had an extra box of chocolate covered mac nuts in my bag.

I reached in my bag, pulled out the box and handed it over to her. She looked up and that was the first time that I actually saw her eyes! I still remember the smile that lit up her face. She thanked me for the box and I told her "Aloha" and left.

As I was getting settled on the shuttle with my family to go to the airport, she came running up to the bus, still smiling. She gave me a certificate for a free rental day and thanked me again. My kids and husband were trying to figure out what was going on. So I smiled at them and told them I was spreading "the Aloha Spirit"!

Iolani Palace

I had only been to Iolani Palace once in my whole life. It was for Kamehameha Schools' Explorations program way back in 1974 when I was 10. I only remember going in and seeing the room with the thrones in them.

Recently, Iolani Palace displayed pieces of King David Kalakaua's royal jewelry to commemorate the 125th anniversary of his coronation. The exhibit was only going to be for a day. There were some pieces in the collection that even the palace curator hadn't seen because they came from a private collection.

There was a long line of people when my husband and I arrived. The line snaked from the bottom steps of the palace down to almost the pavilion. (You don't see the line because everyone was in the shade). It was a beautiful sunny day and I didn't mind waiting one bit.

I love to people watch and today was no exception. There seemed to be more locals than tourist there that day. There was an older couple who had brought their grandson with them. I don't think he really cared about seeing the jewels, but had really seemed to like getting out of school early and being with this grandparents. The group in front of us were having a discussion of overthrow.

We got the "mini tour" because there were so many people who were going to go through the palace that day. We didn't even have to wear the booties! The staff were very kind and helpful with the information that they shared.

The collection that was shown was much more than I imagined. There were many pieces that were given to King Kalakaua during his reign. There were many medals and ribbons that he wore. What was amazing to me was that a lot of the jewels in the pieces were very large. Kind of the big bamgucha sized marbles we used to play with at recess as well as the cat eye size as well. I'm glad that I had a chance to go and see these pieces. I got to see a part of Hawaii's history that I hadn't seen before.

After we left, my husband pointed out that I still hadn't been on a full tour of the palace. I guess I'll just have to leave that on my list of things to do.

A BEAUTIFUL DAY AT YOKOHAMA

I live on the windward side of Oahu in Kahalu`u. During the winter months, it can rain almost everyday. And if it doesn't rain, there are some very dark clouds covering the sky. This can make for beautiful waterfalls on the Ko`olau and lush greenery. But it can also make for a gloomy day. After a while, I just had enough.

So I decided to take a ride out to the end of the road to Yokohama. It was a gorgeous day!! Here's some of the pictures that I took. I got to try out my new Nikon D40 DSLR camera. It takes great pictures.

Sometimes it's fun to be a tourist on your own island. I like to drive so it was nice to just get in the car, turn on the radio and travel down the highway.

Yokohama beach during the winter doesn't get many swells. But you still have to watch out for the undertow. The lifeguards were on duty and had the signs and flag up. They were really helpful enough to recommend a part of the beach that would be better for swimming.

I had a wonderful morning playing tourist, getting some sun and soaking up the warmth.

Why "Hawaiian Hut Goddess"?

I've told a few friends about my blogging attempt. Then when I tell them the name of my blog, they have a good laugh and ask why that name. So let me tell you.

At one time, I was a stay-at-home mom. Some people would say that I was a housewife. But both titles just grated on my nerves, because I wasn't married to the house, nor as a mom of three kids, did I stay home very much. (And what's up with those dashes in stay-at-home?) I was actually a working mom getting paid with hugs and wet kisses.

I told a friend of mine how I didn't like those titles. She told me what I really was was a House Goddess! I really liked that and it stuck. And when I had to fill out those forms that asked for your occupation, I would boldly write "House Goddess".

So when I wanted to start this blog, my husband thought that I should change the house to hut and make it more descriptive, so the Hawaiian Hut Goddess was born.

I recently read an article in the newspaper about blogs. I went online and started to read some of them. I thought "I could do that". I've always wanted to write. I wasn't sure what my "niche" was going to be as I'm interested in so many things. So this blog is going to be about things that I find interesting. And hopefully if you're reading this blog, you will too.

Free Samples, Free Samples, Free Samples

Who doesn't like to get samples? I like to get these little "gifts" in the mail. And it's pretty easy to do. I like the Wal-Mart site in their IN STORE NOW heading. I've gotten samples of Pantene Shampoo and Conditioner, Dove, Biore and Curel.

You can go directly to the company websites to see if they have samples. I headed on over to the Sunsilk site. Olay has samples and coupons. Always is another one as well.

All the site will ask for your snail mail address to send you the samples. You may have to fill in a short survey. But I figure a few minutes of your time and you get to try something new.

Some of them will ask you for your email address as well. I've set up a separate gmail account that I use just for this. They all promise not to give out your email address, but I always get a rush of emails right after I've filled these things out.

If any one know other offers, leave me a comment with the information so that we can all check it out!