ALOHA

It's been a fun month, but I am leaving late late late tomorrow night to fly through the night, land in Phoenix mid-morning, and attempt the 4-5 hour drive home. I am fully prepared to admit defeat a half hour outside of the airport, check into a motel, and pay for an entire day's stay just to sleep a couple of hours. I am also ready to down 8-12 Extra Large Diet Cokes and swallow a couple of Excedrin for Migraines (for the caffeine) to keep driving.

But I have to give up the idea of chocolate, chips, and munchy things to keep me awake since I have been eating them non-stop for the entire month I have been here and am already planing my exercise/diet attack when I get home (Rule No. 1: Do not keep such items with a fourteen mile radius of the house, Rule No. 2: Do not stay up past midnight each and every night, thereby guaranteeing that you will drive those fourteen miles at 11:30 p.m. to purchase such items.)

But there are some things I am taking back from Hawaii to the mainland (no, Harmony, I am not going to kidnap Kate and Colin... I don't think):

- The Aloha attitude. It's not just for the tourist, there are just a lot of smiles here, and a lot of relaxed happy people. And happiness is a decision, regardless of where you are.

- My regular 'farmer's' tan (only on my face and arms below the t-shirt line), but at least it's darker.

- Some great computer shortcuts and websites that I have picked up, as well as the determination, after being spoiled by a 'real' Internet connection, to disconnect the land-line and use that money towards a broad-band connection.

- Memories of Kate learning to say, "Please, Grandma, chocolate!", Colin becoming a great sport when he lost at Wii to me (bowling only; the boy still destroys me in tennis), Blake's active participation in "America's Got Talent", and Harmony and I both FREAKING out when the season premiere of "The Office" was NOT recording automatically.

Arizona, watch out, I'm coming back!