One year ago, today . . .

Exactly one year ago, today, we took our first trip to Hawaii. Exactly one year ago, today, I caught my first glimpse of the incredibly beautiful blue-green waters of Maui. Exactly one year ago, today, I fell in love with a place I never expected to love. Sure, I thought I'd like it, I mean who doesn't like tropical paradise? Who doesn't like warm sun and the smell of plumeria? Who wouldn't like relaxing by a pool while someone brings you a Mai Tai?

I knew I'd like it - I just never thought I'd be head-over-heels about it within 4 hours of the plane touching down. But that was me - completely smitten.

It's hard to believe it was a year ago. Maui had such an impact on not just me, but our entire family. We all had a blast. All sixteen of us, staying in the Kapalua Bay/Ritz Carlton area. If I had to do it all over again (yup, I'd make the sacrifice) I wouldn't change one single thing!

I've never been on a vacation where I wasn't ready to come home after about 4 days. Until Maui, where I didn't want to leave. Seriously, I cried when we landed in Portland.

The next day, I woke up and immediately went to see my friend, Jenny, who is a Maui-lover too. I walked into her office, handed her an orchid lei and said,

"I get it. I totally get why you're always either a) talking about Maui or b) plotting how to get there. I get it."

Then I went to the grocery store and bought any food that had the word "Hawaiian" in it. Let's see, to the best of my recollection, this was our supper the night after we returned from Maui:

Grilled chicken with Yoshida's Hawaiian Sweet & Sour marinade

Pineapple - one we brought back with us

King's Hawaiian rolls ( I don't know why those are Hawaiian but they're sweet and good with no nutritional value whatsoever)

Mai Tai's

So - big ta-da moment here - in honor of being in Hawaii a year ago, I'm drinking a Mai Tai as I type this. And trying to keep the typos to a minimum. If all goes as planned, I won't care about typos.

You want to know how to make a Mai Tai? Come along! Come along! I will show it to you! Your mother will not mind at all if I do!

Dr. Seuss and adult beverages - can the day GET any better? I submit that it CANNOT.

You will need:

Triple Sec

Light Rum

Dark Rum

Amaretto

Sweet and sour mix (the yellow stuff in the mason jar - homemade, baby)

half of a lime

You will buy it at a liquor store far away from your neighborhood so none of your church friends will see you.

You will note there is no pineapple juice. That's because there isn't supposed to be pineapple juice in Mai Tai's. At least there was none in any of the Mai Tai's I drank in Maui so there is none in this recipe. I'm all about the authenticity, people. Anyway -

For one drink, measure out an ounce each of the two rums, amaretto, triple sec and sweet and sour.

I love this little 2-ounce measuring cup my mom gave me. It's perfect for making drinks. However, I need a bigger measuring cup so I can do all the ingredients together instead of two at a time.

My life is so hard.

Pour the ingredients over a glass of ice.

Ream the lime then squeeze it into the glass. In this picture, my helper was learning how to ream limes so I could take the pictures. It's a good skill set for a fourth - oops, FIFTH-grader to have. There is nothing, NOTHING more important that getting Mommy's cocktail right.

"Kids! Put that homework away! This Mai Tai isn't going to make itself, now is it?"

Give it a stir and dream about being at the Maui Ritz Carlton pool.

Then give me a call, I'll commiserate with you.