The good, the bad, and the A-mazing food in Hawaii

The good

1) Pho in Chinatown, downown Honolulu

B enjoying it while watching football (saturday football at 5 pm in Hawaii was 11 pm in SC)

The bad

2) Mini burgers and nachos at Cheeseburger Wakiki

TOO EXPENSIVE AND TOO SMALL OF PORTIONS

It was our 1st meal in Hawaii- we were jet lagged and it was NOT a good experience. We ate and went to bed.

The A-mazing

3) Spam sushi

Also known as Spam musubi

We got ours at a sushi restaurant, but you can also find it at the local 7-elevens in Hawaii!

Also, our president, Obama, is a fan of this type of "sushi."

4) Japanese Fighting Fish- fried and served whole
We ate at a Thai food restaurant across from the Hilton hotel. It was visited by the Travel Channel's Anthony Bourdain. And this fish was its signature dish.

Obviously it was good.

:)

5) Helena's Hawaiian food-

We watched Man V Food on the travel channel and Adam went here and had an amazing meal. We decided to eat there our last day before heading to the airport to try "original" Hawaiian food

This is Laulau-

Basically, you take the fattiest chunk of pig-butt and butterfish that you can find, salt both of ‘em , and then wrap it all in taro leaves and place it in an underground oven. A few hours later the laulau is ready to eat.

So delish!!!

So yes, we had good, bad, and A-mazing food in Hawaii. B says that Helena's was the best part of the trip for him.

More blogging about the trip later.

The reason behind the trip.....

......i actually had to work! Yes, i went to hawaii to WORK, LEARN, AND PRESENT!
And of course have fun!


So over the past 9 months, i have been working on Pulmonary research looking at sepsis mortality in the ICU and health disparities in South Carolina. And there are 2 large pulmonary conferences each year that our faculty likes for us to attend- so when i heard the ACCP 2011 meeting was in Honolulu, i said "sign me up!"

I spent 6 days and 5 nights in Honolulu at the CHEST convention (yea!). I was able to attend a Fellow's Conference that gave us lectures and then hands on simulation (see video below), i heard lectures from other fellows, and of course, i got to present my research in poster form.

Here in the Conference Center-


Here is a pic of me from CBS news Hawaii- i'm learning critical care ultrasound techniques




And here is my poster!

Oh- and then remember how i said i was on the news?!?!? Well, here is the link. I had NO IDEA they were filming me- i was actually in "learning mode" because i don't know much about critical care ultrasound. So cool!!!

Chest doctors converge in first Hawaii convention - Hawaii News Now - KGMB and KHNL Home

AND we are back!!!

Ok- we are EXHAUSTED and i feel like i have been awake for 30 hours.....oh wait....i have!!!
I thought i would share a few random pics from Hawaii- just a tease- because i have over 200 pics and about 7 videos!


Oct 21st- We made it!


Oct 26th- We are leaving! Aloha!

Oct 27th- still not home- with a delay in Chicago, B decided to sleep ON THE FLOOR OF THE AIRPORT. Ick!

Our hotel *sigh* Taylor and i miss it soooooo!

Our Hawaiian sunset!

Once the jet lag wears off, i promise to write more. Hope everyone didn't miss us too much!!

xox

BLT

leaving on a jet plane....

With all the hustle and bustle and preparation for my trip, i have not really had time to blog. Sorry about that but in all honesty, there hasn't been much going on besides work, laundry, and more work.

Anyway, tomorrow, BLT will be leaving behind our families, our house, and most importantly our four legged children, to head to the 50th state. Yes, we are off to HAWAII!

Now, before you get uber jealous, this is a work trip for me. (Aren't i a lucky girl for having a Pulmonary Conference in such an amazing place?!?!? ) So, it isn't all vacation.... i will be attending lectures and presenting a poster on my research. My 1st poster for Pulmonary/Critical Care! But don't worry- i do plan on being able to sight see, and take T

surfing, and of course doing some shopping! I wonder what great shoe stores i can find????

And i plan on kayaking and working on my tan here:
Ahu o Laka, also called the Kaneohe Bay Sandbar, the Sunken Island, the Disappearing Island, and sometimes just the Kaneohe Sandbar.

Per the Hawaii visitors site: "The Ahu o Laka Sandbar in Kaneohe Bay is a popular resting place or destination for sailboats, kayakers, jet skiiers, and other boaters and only appears above the water line at high tide.

Ahu o Laka is about three acres in size and it has beautiful views of Kaneohe Bay and the Koolau Mountains. No birds nest on Ahu Laka and it has no vegetation. It is a part of a larger sand wedge that is approximately a mile long. It sits about a mile off the coast on the lagoon side of a barrier reef. "

Anyway, to all of our readers (all 3) and friends/family, please pray for safe travels for us. Also, many thanks to Camille who is watching our 4 legged children. And just in case people are wondering, the results are not back yet for that little test i took back in August. They should be back the last weekend of October (i will be back by then). And my feeling is: regardless of good or bad news, at least i went to hawaii. :)

shoe obsessed!

I'm dying here.....i want one of each please (oh- and if i can get a loan to buy them all)!!!


Red beautiful rainboots!

Louis Vuitton heels- never had a pair but WOW!

These are just fun!

And perfect to wear with a LBD!

And every girl needs a good pair of cowboy boots!

I mean, how beautiful are they?!?!?!

Couldn't you just look at this blog all day? (Taylor says no btw but she is jealous because she just only wears doc martins and i won't let her wear my beautiful heels).

Oh- and i do have to say that Taylor and i are both really lucky because we wear the same size shoe! So....when you think about it, you can buy ME a pair of shoes and it will really be a pair of shoes for ME AND TAYLOR! Two for the price of one! Perfection!!!

And yes taylor, i am a total girl. :)

Asheville Weekend

B and i spent last weekend in Asheville- well, actually one night in Columbia (yep- Colatown) and two nights in Waynesville (about 30 minutes from Asheville). It was wonderful to have a weekend away and i wanted to show you some pictures from our weekend!


Our Waynesville hotel- http://www.thewaynesvilleinn.com/
It is actually a golf resort and spa- slightly "dated" but very tranquil and peaceful!


Berry saying good morning!

The happy couple! This is right before we went and spent time in the hot springs!

http://www.nchotsprings.com/

Table Rock, SC

Oh- and we went to see Evin, who owns Split Creek Farm and its many many goats!

If you ever go up towards Pickens, SC, go here. Try the fudge. It is AMAZING!!

And of course we had to hit some SC wineries! This is one of the three wineries we went to- we are trying to start up our own, so it is great to meet up with the people who are already in the thick of it and talk "shop."
http://cityscapewinery.com/

Hope you enjoyed the pictures!

MORE halloween!

I'm telling you....Taylor and i are obsessed with Halloween! If i could keep these decorations up all year, i would be one happy girl.

Dinning room table centerpiece

Oh- and look what i made (thank you pinterest for the ideas)! Spray painted pumpkins with glitter and then a "dead" flower bouquet. With spiders and snakes!!!

And our new ghost skeleton to gaurd our boat!

Yea yea yea yea yea!

BTW- B does not understand my halloween obsession- but i am thankful he puts up with it!

:)

Halloween is in the air...

...which means it is time to decorate!

Oh- how i love this time of year- the weather is crisp, the candy is flowing, and the creatures that go bump in the night are out in full force!

Taylor took it upon herself to help decorate yesterday. I was cooking and B was mowing the lawn. So Taylor was very helpful to start getting our house in its Halloween theme!

Here is her work so far!

Our graveyard....

Our front porch

We have a lot more to do but at least we got started!