It's raining, it's pouring, Conan is snoring...

In case any of you were still up in the air on whether Conan is the most spoiled dog ever, here's some proof. We've been getting rain this weekend, which is not too common on our side of the island. Last night, Conan acted like he needed to go out but balked when he saw that peeing would entail getting wet -- one of his least favorite things. He decided he could hold it for awhile. A couple hours later, he needed to go out so urgently that he actually stepped out into the rain. But then he ran back up to the door! I pushed him back and told him to go potty, and after a few repeats of this procedure he actually made it all the way to the grass! But then he turned around and scurried for the door.

I could tell he really needed to go -- and I was having flashbacks to the time when he was about a year old and didn't want to pee in the rain, so he actually peed in the house, right in front of me -- and I grabbed my umbrella. I actually went out in the pouring rain, getting half-soaked myself, so I could hold an umbrella over my dog while he relieved himself. I felt like a butler or footman in one of those period movies who gets drenched while holding an umbrella over their snobbish, wealthy master, or the queen or somebody. Guess we know who rules this roost!

"Nub On The Ground"

So Jarrod and I were watching "American Idol" a few weeks ago when the infamous (and hilarious) "Pants On The Ground" audition was first heard. Ever since then, Jarrod has been singing an improvised song he made up about Conan. First, watch the real "POTG" video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMwhl4IrPNc

Then read Jarrod's lyrics with that tune in your head:
Nub on the ground, nub on the ground, lookin' like a fool with your nub on the ground
With the chompers in yo' mouth, collar turned sideways
Nub hit the ground, call yourself a cool dog
Lookin' like a fool, walkin' downtown with your nub on the ground
Give it up
Hey, get yo' nub off the ground
Lookin' like a fool
Walkin', talkin' with yo' nub on the ground

Ah, poor Conan.

Birds, Birds and More Birds!

Hawaii has tons of amazing birds and I've been working on taking pictures of them since we got here. My pictures aren't that good and I hope to take better ones eventually, but this will give you an idea of some of the birds who frequent our yard (except the last one, who frequents the dog beach). The coolest bird I've seen so far is an albatross on our hike to Makapu'u Lighthouse. I tried to photograph him but he was too far away, and by the time we hiked closer he had decided to tuck his head into his wing and take an afternoon nap.

Another bird I really like is the Hawaiian Cardinal. It looks somewhat similar to typical cardinals (which also live in Hawaii) but in addition to a bright red head, it has a white breast, gray wings and tail, and a huge mohawk.

The only birds I really don't like are the morning doves. They're so small I actually thought they were babies at first. They are EVERYwhere and apparently have no fear of people, dogs or cars. Since it seems like their favorite place to hang out is in the middle of the road, and there are zillions of them in our neighborhood, I'm sure I'll probably hit one with the Escape eventually. (Although I have to admit, I'm somewhat biased against doves since they were the cause of the Great Bird Mite Infestation in our San Angelo house.) Without further ado, here are a few photos:

Hawaiian Cardinal

Despite searching and searching on the internet, I can't figure out what this guy is. At first I assumed it was a female Hawaiian Cardinal, but I read that male and female Hawaiian Cardinals are both red. Hmm... Anyway, I love his hairdo.

Myna Bird (It's a little hard to see, but he has BRIGHT yellow feet, bill and mask across his eyes.)

Saffron Finch

Java Sparrow (The coloring kind of reminds me of a puffin, my favorite bird. I can't wait to drag Jarrod to Maine someday to see them.)

Hawaiian Stilt (His legs were super pink, but the color kind of got lost since I had to zoom x16 to get a close enough shot without him flying off.)

Greetings and VOG

Aloha! Jarrod and I (well, mostly I) have decided to start a blog to document our Hawaii adventures. (And for some spice, I'll probably also blabber on about topics like Conan's antics, my knitting projects and how hard it is to find a job.) We have been in Hawaii for just over three months now and it's definitely been an interesting experience. We've seen some cool sights and eaten at some delicious restaurants, but we also miss our old favorite stores and eateries and weather that actually changes. Maybe if everyone tries really hard, we can wish some Hawaii sunshine into existence in Indiana and some Indiana frozen-ness in Hawaii!

So I thought I'd start off the blog with an interesting phenomenon Jarrod and I discovered almost immediately after we arrived. We were sitting at home one night, having just gotten our TV (finally!!!) hooked up to cable, and collapsed in laughter at the news channel's horrendous error. They misspelled FOG and wrote VOG! "Haha," we laughed, "what idiots!" Except... when the weather portion of the news started, there it was again. And again. And we realized they hadn't accidentally typed a "v" when they meant hit "f." We learned that vog -- or volcanic smog -- is apparently what you get when sulfur dioxide emitted from a volcano, Mt. Kilauea on the Big Island in this case, mixes with dust and sun. We hadn't really experienced vog until this weekend. The wind was blowing northwest from the Big Island, causing Oahu to be blanketed in a strange haze. This is visible in the picture above of Honolulu's skyline, which is typically crystal clear. (I tried and tried to get the pictures to post BELOW this paragraph but finally gave up.)