Kimberly A. Cook

Military Romance Author

Kimberly A Cook

Have You Seen Elvis In Maui?

By 6 Comments

by Kimberly A. Cook              (Twitter@    WarriorTales)

Back from a Girls Road Trip to Maui with my Mom and Sister. We had a great time, beautiful weather and we got to see Elvis! Now before you think the humidity turned my brain to mush, we saw Darren Lee as Elvis in the Burn’ N Love Show in Lahaina.

Elvis or Darren Lee in Maui?
Elvis or Darren Lee in Maui?

I’m a HUGE Elvis fan, always have been. I try to have no regrets in life, but the one I do have is giving up my tickets to see Elvis in Portland on April 27, 1973 because I would have been booted out of our High School musical. His concert was the same date as dress rehearsal for “Hello Dolly.” The choir director, alias Attila the Hun, insisted that if I missed the rehearsal I was out of the show. (I was only a chorus crowd and marching band member, but in high school teachers word was law. Quit choir the next year anyway for journalism and the yearbook staff.)

Two high school friends went with my Mom and Dad and four years later Elvis was gone. Several years ago I went to the Elvis concert with his actual band playing to the films of Elvis performing and that was pretty great. But Darren Lee knows Elvis.

Lee has been performing Elvis since the young age of 15. After winning the 1997 World Elvis Competition in Memphis, Tennessee, he went on to perform as Elvis in Las Vegas for eleven years. A couple of years ago he and his wife visited Maui for the first time and fell in love with the island. He thought it would be great to bring an Elvis show to Maui. Luck, timing, support and perhaps a little help from Elvis himself and the show started in 2013 in Lahaina. A portion of all ticket sales benefit the Maui Food Bank – 100,000 meals so far!

Lee concentrates on Elvis from 1957 through his comeback tv special in 1968 – yes, the black leather – OMG – through 1973. He pays special attention to Elvis’s Hawaii concerts and films too. It’s 90-minutes of amazing fun, showmanship, dancers and true entertainment. We were  singing along and dancing and clapping to the beat.

If you get to Maui you’ve got to see Darren Lee as Elvis. I don’t know how he does half of the moves with the microphone, his hips, knees and ankles, but he must have a chiropractor and masseuse on call 24/7.  The show is rated the number one attraction in Maui and with very good reason.

The quotes which run before the show are wonderful from all the entertainers inspired by Elvis. I can’t make up for missing my one Elvis concert, but Darren Lee made me feel I’d seen a glimpse of the King.

https://youtu.be/YankZkK6u-4

Time For Penguins?

By Leave a Comment

by Kimberly A. Cook                (Twitter@  WarriorTales)

Sometimes you have to take a walk on the wild side, with penguins. How cute is this baby Humboldt chick getting weighed and measured at the Oregon Zoo? Cutie!

Have a great weekend and Happy Quirky Friday!

To Saw Or Not To Saw?

By 3 Comments

by Kimberly A. Cook                (Twitter@  WarriorTales)

Ever started a simple home improvement project that turns into a monster? I had this great idea about using the leftover boards from my replaced fence for firewood. Sounded like an easy thing, right?

The pile of fence wood stacked in my garage. I think it's growing. Like wire coat hangers in the dark.....
The pile of fence wood stacked in my garage. I think it’s growing. Like wire coat hangers in the dark…..

Now with 60-feet of fence replaced, first I had to break down each panel and then stack the wood on the patio to dry out. Had nice sunny weather for the weekend and decided to use Dad’s skill saw and cut those boards up no problem. Tried the first skill saw and I couldn’t get it to work. Not sure if it was a button thing or a power issue.

Not deterred, I’d brought another skill saw from Dad’s shop and that one started right up. Sucker was heavy. And noisy. Started in on the boards and the going was a bit rough. Seems 15-year-old cedar boards are a tad tough and I must be a tad weak. It appears you actually have to push the darn skill saw to make it work. Who knew?

I even called my brother-in-law to make sure I was using it correctly. It looked SO EASY when I watched Dad use it. Mom’s comment to me about the whole thing was, “He was strong!”  No kidding. I need three men and a boy to help me with this pile of wood.

Decisions. After about an hour of pushing, shoving and some interesting language, I had one bin filled with wood cut for my fireplace. Egad. With an aching back and kinda frozen fingers, I decided the better part of valor was to put the wood in the garage and work on it over time. Like probably the entire next year.

One bin of firewood cut to size, 5,864 to go. Give or take a few.
One bin of firewood cut to size, About 5,864 to go. Give or take a few.

I will get it done! Maybe by Fall. Maybe not. There must be videos on YouTube on how to use these power tools. Of course at the day job this week one of my co-workers had to rush to the emergency room because her hubby cut off the tip of his finger with a skill saw. I didn’t do that!

Maybe I should hire woodworking elves. Or a herd of woodchucks…..

Got monster home projects? Or skill saw tips?

Time To Take A Swim In The Sink?

By Leave a Comment

by Kimberly A. Cook            (Twitter@  WarriorTales)

I’ve got ducks on the brain this week. The resident Momma duck at the day job paraded her kidlets in front of me on the way to work Wednesday. Too cute!

Who can resist baby ducks? These cute guys seem to have found a very small duck size pool at their abode, commonly called a sink. Have a great time watching their technique.

Have a great weekend and Happy Quirky Friday!

Cookies, Sunshine and Duck Butts?

By 3 Comments

by Kimberly A. Cook           (Twitter@   WarriorTales)

There is a lot to be said for serendipity, sunshine and the simple pleasures. Moseyed over to the opening day of my local Farmer’s Market to check out the wares and goodies. Came upon a booth with ginormous cookies.

Wait a minute. Those cookies looked familiar. I never forget a cookie! They were the size of pancakes with every kind from Cowboy Cookies to spicy chocolate cookies. Looked around and saw jars of jams and preserves, then some fresh fruit.

The Cookie Bar sign from Packer Orchards and Bakery in Hood River, Oregon. Or as I like to call it, Cookie Heaven!
The Cookie Bar sign from Packer Orchards and Bakery in Hood River, Oregon. Or as I like to call it, Cookie Heaven!

Yes! It was the Packer Orchards and Bakery from Hood River where I stopped on my way to the Alpaca yarn shop. Chatted up the booth cash register lady and she confirmed it was their first year having a booth at my market. It’s a miracle! Since the orchards and their store with the COOKIE BAR is a good 75 miles from my house, they moved the cookies closer to me!

Seriously, I’m going to have to take up running in addition to walking with this many treats so close. Procured a peanut butter and chocolate chip cookie and a marionberry pie sweetened with pear juice. Those gems were nestled right next to the cinnamon rolls with marionberry topping! I felt my jeans tighten just looking at them.

So I did a circuit of the rest of the market and found fresh asparagus, hanging baskets, jewelry, Hawaiian BBQ, all kinds of fun stuff. Then I parked myself in the line to get a chicken Greek gyro. Sun was out, great Spring day and cookies. Doesn’t get much better than that.

Yesterday at the day job the gorgeous weather continued and our resident pair of ducks were having a great time during lunch playing in the water feature in the man-made waterfall. I enjoyed my lunch in the sun and watched the ducks go hunting for morsels in the water, their cute butts going straight up into the sun.

You know it’s the perfect time of year when the farmer’s markets start to open, the ducks are playing in the water showing their butts and I can get humongo cookies every Saturday. Welcome Spring!

Got a favorite farmer’s market? Or cookie bar? Or cute duck butt sighting?

Can You Make Furry Friends?

By Leave a Comment

by Kimberly A. Cook           (Twitter@  WarriorTales)

Somehow whenever I’m looking for Friday videos, I always end up watching Cesar Milan old “Dog Whisperer” shows. Then 45 minutes later I remember what I was trying to do. So what better way to head into a weekend then to learn about making friends.

We all need buddies and sometimes the furrier the better. Check out how this young kitten tried to make friends with a furry hoppy thing. Don’t think he was quite sure what kind of cat it was. There is also a follow-up video when the kitten is a teenager meeting the bunny again. And then there go a few more minutes out of my day.

Have a great weekend and Happy Quirky Friday!