Getting to Know Hawaii: Lyman Museum

The Need to Knows:

• The Lyman Museum is located at 276 Haili St, Hilo, HI 96720.  Its exact location can be found here:

• The Lyman Museum is open Mondays through Saturdays from 10 AM to 4:30 PM.
• Mission House tours happen twice daily at 11 AM and 2 PM.
• Admission costs are as follows: Kama'aina - adults $8, seniors $6, children 6-17 $3, $17 for a family; Out of State - adults $10, seniors $8, children $3; and University students are $5.
• The museum is obviously kid-friendly, but it's probably more suited to older kids since there aren't really hands-on activities for younger kids to get interactive and engaged.  Healthy doses of appreciation for science and history definitely make this place more interesting!
• Although we didn't see a special exhibit on this trip, they are known to be on display every now and then.  Check out the Lyman Museum website for more information.

Five for Friday

1.  I'm glad we've had chances to see old friends recently.  It's nice having familiar faces close by!

2.  Yay for camping out in the new house!  lol.

3.  Fireplaces are awesome!

4.  Hopefully it won't rain too badly this weekend.  I want to get out and explore!

5.  I love how much of a hard worker you are :)

ily <3

Parmesan Basil Orzo

Up until a couple of weeks ago, I actually had never tried orzo before in my life!  I've been on a kick lately though to try new things, so as soon as I saw this delicious-sounding Allrecipes recipe, I wanted to add it to our family's dinner rotation ASAP.

I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the orzo turned out fantastic and delicious!  I mean, in hindsight, I guess that isn't so hard to believe when your ingredients list includes things like "butter" and "parmesan".  But I really thought it was a winner, as did my family.  When we need a side dish to get us out of a rut, this will absolutely be one of the ones I turn to, and you should too!

Ingredients [4 servings]

• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 cup uncooked orzo
• 1 14.5 oz can chicken broth
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tbsp dried basil (use fresh if you'd like, just more of it!)

Directions

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Stir in orzo and saute until lightly browned.

Stir in chicken stock and bring to a boil.  Cover, reduce the heat, and simmer until orzo is tender and the liquid is absorbed (about 15-20 minutes).

Mix in parmesan cheese and basil and season to taste with salt and pepper.  Serve and enjoy!

Have you ever tried orzo before?

Five for Friday

1.  I love how good things have been going here!

2.  Yay for a house!!

3.  You bragging on me is pretty awesome :)

4.  I'm excited about dinner tonight!  And for the weekend.

5.  Camping out for the next month or so is going to be interesting...here's hoping we make it through it one piece!

ily <3

Getting to Know Hawaii: Lava Tree State Monument

The Need to Knows: 

• Lava Tree State Monument is located off of Pahoa-Pohoiki Road (Highway 132), Pahoa, HI 96778.  It's exact location can be found here:

• The monument is open every day during daylight hours.
• There are no admission fees and parking is free.
• Restrooms and trash cans are available for use.
• There is a paved path through the monument area that is stroller and wheelchair-friendly, although some areas may be obstructed by roots.  Just keep an eye out!
• You are definitely in jungle here, so mosquito repellent is always a good idea.
• For the sake of preservation, please remain on the path and do NOT touch the tree molds.  Also be sure to pack out what you bring in!

Five for Friday

1.  Adventures are fun!  And stressful.  Haha.

2.  Hotel living definitely isn't my favorite.

3.  House hunting is also not my favorite!!  I hope we get lucky soon.

4.  I'm so, so, so glad you are loving your new position.  I'm so proud of you!

5.  I can't wait to get settled in this new phase with you <3

ily!  <3

Easy Marinated Vegetables

I am always on the lookout for simple, fast, and delicious recipes, so when one hits my radar, I am always more than willing to give it a try.  This recipe from Allrecipes is 100% one of those recipes and I am so glad I decided to serve it a little while back!

This recipe turned out to be a hit for my whole family, even the pickier eaters!  It's basically a little side salad, except with more veggies instead of lettuce.  I think the best part about it was being able to throw whatever we had in the house into the mix and I could leave out anything someone in my family wouldn't normally eat.  The original recipe calls for cucumbers, and I know Mr. L normally isn't a fan of them, so I just omitted it and added olives, something he can't get enough of!

If you're looking for a quick and yummy side dish for dinner tonight, this recipe would be perfect.  Give it a try and let me know what you think!

Ingredients [4-6 servings]

• 1 1/2 cups broccoli florets
• 1 1/2 cups cauliflower florets
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch strips
• 1 small can diced (or chopped) olives
• 4 oz feta cheese
• 1/4 cup Italian dressing

Directions

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil.

Add the broccoli and cauliflower florets to the water and boil for one minute.  Drain, rinse the florets, and add to a mixing bowl.

Add the red bell pepper, olives, feta cheese, and Italian dressing to the same bowl.  Cover and refrigerate the vegetables for one hour and then serve with your favorite dinner!

What's your favorite way to cook assorted vegetables?

New Beginnings

Chick's Beach, Virginia - Courtesy of Flickr user Jeff Self

Things have definitely changed for our household over the past few weeks.  I know I basically just got done telling you all how busy we've been since we've been back in Alabama, but now, of course, things have gotten even crazier!  I'm beginning to think we can't do anything but crazy, haha.

Back when Mr. L retired from the military, he and I came up with what I thought was a pretty decent "life plan" to get us through at least the next year or so.  We would live with my parents, I would find a decent job, and we'd save enough money to be able to rent (or buy) a place of our own eventually in our shared hometown.  However, as it usually does, life had other plans in store for us.

Mr. L was contacted by a friend in the military about a potential job opening in Virginia Beach with a civilian company.  We were a little taken aback, but we figured more information couldn't hurt.  Plus I assumed that nothing would come of it, and I think Mr. L probably did too.  

But the more information we got about it, the more perfect the position seemed to be.  Eventually we felt like it was written specifically for him!  It also didn't hurt that the recruiter was VERY interested in Mr. L and was contacting him quite frequently.  After some intense discussion with our families over the course of a few days, Mr. L and I made the joint decision to take a leap of faith and go for it.

Then a couple of weeks later, Mr. L officially got the job!  I was and am still so, so proud of him.  It's going to be a difficult path for us with his illness, but we felt like it was the right move not only for his career but for our future as a family.

So for the past few weeks, we have been knee-deep in moving AGAIN.  (Did you know I've officially moved 7 times in 5 years now?  Um, crazy.)  Unfortunately we'll still be in the transition process (AKA hotel livin') for longer than I really want, but that's the right decision for us even though it sucks.  Eventually we'll be settled and all the hard work will be worth it!

It also kind of sucks that we weren't back in Alabama for very long.  We kept thinking we had so much more time to spend with friends and family that we didn't get to see everyone we wanted to or do everything we wanted.  I guess we'll just have to save those memories for the next time we visit.  At least you can drive from Virginia to Alabama, right??  Definitely not like Hawaii!  :)

I'm hoping to keep everything here on the blog running pretty smoothly, but I may have brief hiatuses every now and then while we get settled.  I do have scheduled posts coming so I'll at least have some new content out soon.  I hope you guys stick around through at least one more move with me!  But until next time, aloha :)

Five for Friday

1.  How is today already here???

2.  I'm not looking forward to being in the car for a long period of time, but I am looking forward to being with you for a long period of time <3

3.  Man, I'm going to miss my dogs...I know you are too :(

4.  I'm so happy we've gotten to spend as much time as we have with the kids.  I love seeing them at this age!

5.  Here's to the start of another journey together.  I couldn't imagine doing it with anyone but you!

ily <3

My Top 10 Apps for an Amazing Hawaiian Vacation

Back when I lived on Oahu (yes, it already pains me to say "lived" in the past tense :( ), there were a few apps that never left my side either when I was coming up with ideas for an afternoon or night out on Oahu or when I was planning a vacation to one of our neighbor islands.  Many were indispensable to how I planned or got new ideas, and I figured that many of you readers would probably love to know about them and my thought process for planning.  

Some of the apps are already pretty popular and some of them aren't so well-known.  I have all of these apps on my iPad, but they're also all available for the Android platform as well and I've included both the iTunes and Google Play links for them all.  So without further ado, let's get started!

One quick note -- this is in no way a sponsored post.  All the opinions expressed are 100% mine and no app, company, or person has swayed my thoughts in any way, other than by being independently awesome, of course.  And no, this isn't an April Fool's post either!  ;)