Actually, not that sweet, at first. Just like going to Grandma’s, going to Uncle’s you never leave empty handed. “Go make lemonade,” he said, washing bunches of lemon and putting them in a plastic bag for us to take home. So I did.  Under the direction of my oldest boss, G-Flo, I made lemonade. Five lemons later, I had more than enough juice for a pitcher of lemonade. G-Flo commented, “I think that’s a lot of juice for that small pitcher. Needs plenty water you know.” Eye roll. She’s the boss for a reason and always thinks her way is the right way. The first taste was sour, like really sour. A spoonful of sugar later it was still sour. Another spoonful didn’t make much of a difference. “How does it taste? Still sour yeah?” She asked, and I lied. “It’s perfect!” The truth was, it probably needed more water but no way was I going to admit that to G-Flo. I just poured myself a glass, drinking my sour juice which was perfect for my slightly sour attitude.

Bringing home these lemons from Uncle’s house was a treat and making lemonade with G-Flo–priceless. My new location comes with a lot of commentary and critique but I can’t complain. I came home for this and even after days of sour lemonade, it’s always pretty sweet.

Tomatoes from the same bunch seen here, only this time they quadrupled. This tomato squad is gonna look good in salads all week. Living that #fitlife or as Maui Mike said, “eat salad you going live long time.”

The peppers on the outside are cheaper since they’ve been around longer but can they really tell where it came from? No, but that doesn’t mean you lie. Pono, do what is right!

Just before summer of 2014, I started eating grapefruit, again. I say again because prior to this, I only had it at home, where it was always pre-cut or squeezed as juice to drink. It pained me when I cut this one particular grapefruit and saw that I went too far in and cut fruit away with the skin. Ironically I paired this “mistake” with some of my favorite glitter letters and wrote “JOY.” I shared a pic I took with my phone on Instagram and it made people happy and that was a great outcome! Cutting grapefruit is a lot of effort and a lot of times, real little fruit. In a single sitting I can eat something twice as fast as it took me to cut out all the spears. BUT, I will STILL do it. In a lot of things, you work hard and you reap benefits. In this case, I get to enjoy the fruit of my labor but  sometimes you never will.

There have been a few times this year that I felt I worked really hard on something and didn’t get the recognition or fulfillment I thought I would feel at the end of the project. I wasn’t able to enjoy the fruit. Instead, I felt like something was lost or missing throughout the process. This feeling, often coming out of stress and frustration, is unenjoyable.  There is no point in complaining to someone (but it might be okay if you keep it to a minimum). Instead, I am learned to try to stay positive. To really look at the bright side or how these stressful, less-exciting experiences can help me learn for next time. Everything has a lesson embedded into it and it’s our job to listen and learn from one of our first teachers–ourselves. Although not everything can be perfect, I do want to see the JOY in the good, the bad and the great-fruit.

The post have been scarce, the work hasn’t been updated but I haven’t felt more right in the things I’ve been doing. Sure there could be more (FT job) but if there was that, would I be making coasters? After an overwhelming positive response from family, friends, and friends of friends, I started making time “once in a lifetime” coasters for gifts. Things don’t always come how you plan but you just go with it. I might think I’m lost on “coaster-nation” but maybe I’m actually going down the road that was meant to be. So far it feels good. While it makes me nervous to not know where this will go, I also feel excited about the uncertainty as it makes everything that much more exciting.

Vegas, where you can travel around the world while never leaving one city.

Fresh cut flowers and color combos.

Today was tough–mentally on the brain and physically on the body. Walking around the city searching for just the right thing for thesis and wondering why I can’t find it in the “big” city. This seems to always be the case for some reason and frustrating to focus on, so I’ve had to learned not to. Live in the present, go with what happens and something will fall into place. In this case, bloom into place as the flowers have finally arrived and acted as a pleasant present to the difficult day.

My first major snowfall! It’s amazing how a gusty night can bring a beautiful tomorrow. The views from Central Park.

The end-of-a-project clean-up always seems like more work than the actual project. Sending off my Asian Blend Fundraiser contributions tomorrow!

Hand-delivered with love from Maui, popped open my Maui Style Potato chips today. Do you think the bag is half-empty or half-full?

Missing MAUI in action. True, it’s been over a month since my last post, but for good reason.  I thought it would be a good break from the computer when I went back to Hawaii to recoup for a month.  I didn’t too much, but I spent time with the most important people, my family. Happy to be home, just like how happy, my friend Jonathan was to see me. Enjoy!

Top to bottom, left to right >> Jonathan, Launiopoko, Kahului Harbor, Launiopoko, Bretty, Lei-making with mini-crownflowers, Flo, Vicky, Lea the escapist, Yoshi Monster, Lychee, Homemade Plate Lunch, Papaya<<