The Beautiful First Moments...

Cheers, fellow bloggers and welcome to 2012 :) 
I've taken a short leave of absence from my blogging with two full weeks of visitors here in Hawaii. First, the Wags! Then, my wonderful mother and grandmother arrived on Christmas day and stayed through New Years Eve. Their plane ascended into the black, new year night as fireworks blasted from beaches and mountain side streets. It was a happy christmas, a merry new year and a wonderful time with our family.


Exhausted and slightly cold-stricken, Nick and I pulled onto our home street just after 11 p.m. last night. Our eyes blotched and blurry with our fill of the on-the-go vacation lifestyle for two weeks straight as we slowly dodged neighbors as they trekked to the lagoons for a promised display of spectacular fireworks. Nicholas and I debated our will to see fireworks, though we were graced with perpetual blasts of color and fizzle all the way down to and back from HNL. Drunk with fatigue, Nick and I decided against the beach festivities, and instead, we spontaneously (and without further planned intentions) began one of my favorite continuous memories thus far in our extended staycation on island...


With barely enough energy to clean up and lock up the house, we bustled our last particles of steam and quickly closed up as NYE-ers staggered cheerfully passed our house. As we crawled into our bed, we noticed the clock promised 2012 in only 30 short minutes. Alas, it was damn near imperative that we peel our eyelids back and wait for that last kiss of the year. 


So, with all that we had left, we clung to consciousness and sat reading aloud Chapter 7 of Harry Potter and the Dealthy Hallows. 


[Starmer Tangent]
In the last week, Nick and I have decided to reread HP7 to refresh our memory, as over the vacation, we had a self-initiated Harry Potter movie marathon and Nick also gave me the complete Harry Potter books 1-7 collection. 


We didn't get too far into "Dumbledore's Will" before the fireworks sparked. We made it to midnight from the last time zone on Earth! With a joyous sense of relief, Nick and I shared the final kiss of 2011 and the first kiss of 2012, marked our page, used our deluminator, collected our lights, and slipped into a comfortable, deep, non-alcohol-induced sleep (gosh, we're old!).


The beautiful first moments didn't cease at 12:03am, however:
Nick and I woke up late this morning. My husband made me breakfast in bed and we snuggled, watching the Pats slaughter the bills while we curse each other's teams. The late morning continued with a little house work and Nick's tv-stand project that we worked on together. And alas, half way through the afternoon, Nick and I, still in our pajamas, renounced productivity, settled in front of the cool backyard breeze with mimosas and continued deeper into our HP7 reading marathon.  We shared chapter for chapter for chapter as the sun brushed oranges and reds against the blue of the afternoon sky. 


A quick nap. Some xbox for Nick. A walk at dusk with our little Ro (Henry David TheRo). Cereal for dinner.


I'm so glad I have a husband who shares my affinity for books and quiet days of nothing. Cheers to our east coast family <3 We miss you. We love you. I'm sure I speak for Nick and I when I said that, in a twisted sort of way, I wish somehow that the romanticism of today could have been paired with a slight hangover induced by NYE festivities with friends back home. 


So, a Starmweber wish to you:

May you all find your peace in 2012. 

Make memories. Laugh. Find success. 

Strive to cherish moments. Be surprised. Embrace adversity. 

Soak up the sun. Relish in deep friendships. Extend your family. 

Cry. Read. Learn. Grow. 

Smile far too often. 

Speak your mind. Maintain your integrity. 

And, in Hawaiian tradition, never lose your aloha. 

Merry 2012 <3