First off...Merry Christmas & Happy almost New Year! We recently had a question on Facebook if we have Christmas trees in Hawaii or if we just decorate palm trees :) and here's the answer! This was our tree...it's still up! I love the smell too much to take it down any sooner then necessary.
I hope your holidays were great! We have had some major weather out here on Oahu. There's been lightening, thunder and lots and lots of rain but it's a nice break! I love the sunshine but the rain really makes it feel a little more like winter. Our winter rain is small potatoes to a lot of you out on the East coast dealing with major snow and flooding! Maybe it's time for a Hawaiian vacation....the sun is shining again today so come on out! (This photo was sunset over Waikiki on Christmas...as the rain started to pass and the sky started to clear.)
The Hawaiian Fire crew was busy, busy, busy around Christmas with the gift fair and then the days leading up to the holiday...we had shoppers in the shop right up until the final hour on the 24th! Leroy....thanks for coming in....um, was it 5 times!?? Someone was in charge of the family's christmas list this year!
The gift fair was a big success and a big shout out to everyone for visiting us at our booth. John, Kevin, Wisa, Ingrid (one of our newest HF members), Jazzy and myself all took turns manning the booth over the weekend.
There were so many gift ideas, I picked up a few things myself! John's family was there also to help out and do some shopping. Carson...thanks for that holiday spirit!
If any of you fans/blog readers got any HF gear as a present from Santa...send us photos of you wearing your cool new stuff on our FB page and we may post them on our HF world!
Christmas was a real treat. I spent the day relaxing and eating...and eating..and eating.. with that said,just a reminder that a great way to get your 2011 New Year's resolution in gear is surfing! Our fit instructors would be more then happy to help you get those pesky holiday pounds off those hips! (Dang cookies!) Speaking of instructors. Noah sent me a few photos that I thought were pretty cool. For those of you that don't know Noah too well...he is an all around water man. Surfing and fishing...all the time :) You probably remember photos from Thanksgiving of his Hawaiian style feast...well he was just back out on the water again catching some Kona crab and enjoying his feast while watching the Hawaii Kai holiday boat parade! What a life!
Well the holiday has now past and New Years Eve is just around the corner. Can you believe it, 2001!!?? For those of you that haven't spent New Years Eve here, fireworks are a BIG deal! They are..up until recently, legal to purchase so you will find them in your local grocery stores, Walmart, Target, etc... however a firework ban was just passed and will soon go into affect which limits the purchase of fireworks, requires a permit and a bunch of other rules which is causing a lot of debate. It's a big cultural issue as it's a tradition for a lot of families but also a health and safety risk. I guess we will see what happens but for now, this NYE will be the last of this kind of celebration so enjoy! It really is an amazing display in people's front driveways, backyards, streets. It's everywhere! (sorry for the dark photo from last year...new camera this year so photos to come!)
Send us photos to our FB page of your NYE celebration! Happy New Year to you all. I wish you a very successful 2011. I will leave you with a quote that I love and hope you do too :) Make 2011 a great one!
"Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man." (or woman)
~Benjamin Franklin
With lots of love and Aloha to you all,
Jackie and the whole HF team
