A Captivating Movie

Keep in mind this probably for girls only. However, most men (most REAL men) will enjoy it too.

 Click here to experience a preview

Dark Chocolate is Healthy Chocolate!

Did'ya Know?

In case your husband or boyfriend thinks that you are eating too much chocolate, well... I'll let you know right here and now that chocolate has more benefits than you might have ever imagined.

So in case he has something to say about that (or she!), click here and teach them a thing or two about chocolate - and I'll bet you'll get a smile.

FYI: Consuming milk while attempting to derive health benefits from dark chocolate will interfere with the absorption of antioxidants.

I Am Delighted!

... because the world is a beautiful place.

Insofar as we are inundated with talk about global warming, let's start concentrating on how beautiful the world still is and I believe will be for the lifetimes of our children. 

I have a dream. That dream brings me to a place of great beauty and incomprehensible joy and delight. 

Let us concentrate on these things and let us be in rapture.

What's for dinner?

Hawaiian fish is bountiful in its variety. There is something for everyone's tastes and you may not even know it exists yet!

One fish you might have never head of before is monchong. It is one of the most popular fish you can find in a restaurant (and is my favorite source of protein). It is light yet firm in its texture and has a wonderful flavor. Or how about Ono, Mahi Mahi or Opah? These are other fantastic options that you will find if you visit Maui or the other Hawaiian Islands.

Check back for next week's post about What's For Dinner!

Aloha!

Some of my favorite flowers - and aren't they incredible?!

Protea are beautiful flowers. Not necessarily fragrant, but they are rich in variety and color. Protea came from South Africa and have been said to originated over 300 million years ago - isn't that amazing?

Tuberose are extremely fragrant, along with gardenia, ginger and pikake (or jasmine). If you travel to Hawaii, you will find them for sale in abundance by street corner vendors, and also look for them in fresh floral arrangements such as lovely hand-made leis.

Plumeria (also called frangipani in Australia) is well-known for its beautiful aroma. It has a myriad of different colors and scents.

There are so many tropical flowering plants, each of them unique and magnificent. It is fun to keep learning about these splendid gifts of nature!

My Kumu Hula (hula teacher)

My kumu hula, Auntie Gordine, otherwise known as my teacher of hula, is a wonderful instructor and dear friend. She is a person who teaches me so much about the history and traditions of hula and the importance of understanding the unwritten language which is important to know if one is to be enriched by the beauty of the Hawaiian Islands as well as the Hawaiian culture - to be enraptured by the Hawaiiana.

There are so many beautiful songs of hula that entice people to learn to sing and dance. Some of my favorites singers and musicians are Kealii Reichel, Makaha Sons of Ni'ihau, Barry Flanagan, and Iz, who is known for his rhythmic telling of stories. While he was alive, Iz weighed about 650 pounds. He still is looked upon as being one of Hawaii's most loved and cherished songwriters.

I get to go to hula class every week and this is something I really look forward to. I highly recommend that everyone has an activity where they look forward to each day with so much joy and enthusiasm!

The day that I had a stroke and my life changed forever

On this day, I couldn't believe that my life could possibly be changed so utterly and completely. I had a life that was so filled with joy and fun and making money and laughter, only to be thrashed and taken to a different place that I did not recognize. I was in a coma for more than two weeks and did not know where I was or if I was even alive. This was hell. No one even wanted to accept me in a stroke hospital - they treated me as if I was already gone. 

To say the least, this story is a very difficult story to write. Up until now, there are not many people I chose to have listen to this story. In fact, what I have found is that I have lost 9/10 of my very good friends as it seems that no one really knows how to deal with their very good friend who completely lost their life and is now so different. My life was so much fun and was filled with joy and laughter and love and kindness and God and love of life only to be radically thrown in the trash. It feels like my life has become so very sad and I am loathe to share with the world what my life is now.

I came very close to ending my life and my husband came very close to ending it for me. I try to hide my deepest feelings for the sake of my beautiful daughter who does not deserve to know any of this. I only want her to know the Tara that existed prior to the stroke that ripped apart my life at the seams.

And now, two and a half years later, the page is turning. I made the decision to change the way I am dealing with my life and how I'm moving away from the sadness and into the light. The light is where I will find myself and I intend to travel, find the laughter, find the joy, find the peace and find the Lord who gives me my life in such a wonderful way again. I am a WINNER and I am now walking again, I am swimming, I am hoping to be driving soon and have every intention of turning my life into roses without the thorns. I am joy and I am hope and I am love. In all of these things I can hardly wait to see the Arc d' triumph, the statue of David in Firenze and to see the colors that exist in the Greek Islands again. In fact, in the next few weeks, I intend to go free-diving in the ocean off Maui.