Happy Birthday Queen Kapiolani

Revered Hawaiian monarch Queen Kapiolani was born on December 31 in 1834. This past Saturday night, we went to a special commemoration event at the Iolani Palace. The tour is a special production on an evening the Palace is not normally open to the public. The grounds and the palace exterior are adorned with colorful Chinese lanterns, as it was when she was celebrating her birthday when she lived in the Palace. We stood in line for over an hour and a half in the on-and-off drizzling rain, but I enjoyed it. Here's a shot taken while we waited, with Grammy-nominated Hawaiian artist Cyril Pahinui entertaining the folks in line.

12 days of Christmas - Seasons Greetings

As usual, there's so much more that I want to do than I can get done. I have not (yet) seen the annual gingerbread display at the Sheraton Surfrider in Waikiki nor have I gotten out of the car to take pictures of the Honolulu City Lights (all we've managed to do is drive by it a few times). But I have done a few other things that weren't originally on the master list for December; one was to tour the Iolani Palace at night. More on that later...for now, here's a shot of King Kamehameha (again). He sits directly across the street from the entrance to the Palace on King Street. This time he's backed by festive lights on the State court house. I thought it was kind of cute in an odd, out-of-place way. And in the spirit of the season, I will let the "Season's" vs. "Seasons" argument go!

Making a list and checking it twice

Whether or not you believe Santa comes to town with Rudolph at the lead, you've got to admit this is a fun day. Busy as an adult, but fun. Robbie asked this morning if Santa was coming to his house, and I said, "Yes...tonight!" Then I asked him what Santa might bring. I fully expected him to say, "Bull and Bruno" the name of a train set we bought him already. But he surprised me by saying simply, "Toys!" Merry Christmas to all.

12 days of Christmas - Holiday card outtake

Another year, another late holiday card photo session. The four of us went to Ko Olina on Sunday for our annual shoot. And like last year, it was very tough to get consistent shots. I made the mistake of playing my cards too early. In my defense, Robbie went through my stuff almost immediately and found the snacks. Then he pretty much wouldn't sit down, even our talk of Santa not bringing him a new GeoTrax train went unnoticed. So here's continuing the tradition started last year - a preview of the card with one of the outtakes.

12 days of Christmas – a Christmas miracle

OK, so this is a stretch for the Christmas posts, but I had my first turtle-on-the-beach spotting over the weekend and was pretty excited. I see tons swimming in the water, but never one to just hang out on the sand. We were heading to Sunset Beach on the North Shore Saturday afternoon and Noel spotted him on another North Shore beach as we drove by. Noel’s sister and husband are in town from Baltimore, and they were traveling in the car behind us, so I didn’t want to disrupt the caravan and stop. But on the way home I wanted to and lucky for me, he was still there (and I had just enough light to shoot with). Here he is in all his sleeping glory!

12 days of Christmas - Santa Claus Station

Not too many people know this: I'm a member of a stamp club. I'm outing myself here, I realize, but how else will I explain the following? (Or maybe it finally makes sense why I blog about stamps now and then?) I really should have brought this up much earlier, as much of the following information is pretty useless to you right now. Every year during the month of December, if you stick stamped mail within a box or larger envelope and then mail that to the postmaster at the Santa Claus Station, Indiana post office, you will have the mail inside sent to the recipient with a collectible post mark. Each year the design is different. This year's winner is shown above. Yes, I received one! They will only stamp mail delivered to the postmaster until Dec 24. So I'll make a note to remind you about this in about 11 months.

12 days of Christmas - more adventures with beverage containers

While downtown Honolulu has the main holiday lights and tree display, Kapolei also tries to spread the cheer. They had a tree lighting ceremony and parade planned for last Saturday, but it was rained out and rescheduled for this weekend. However, that didn't wash out the holiday spirit at Kapolei Hale. Here's a tree I spotted indoors earlier this week - Diet Coke cans create the branches with Christmas lights and fake holly scattered around. Yes, I also think this is a LOT of soda.

12 days of Christmas - Cinnamon ornaments

Time's running out on me, I've got roughly eight days to post seven more Christmas treats. Here's one again from Robbie. Cinnamon ornaments! Made in school. Note that they are surprisingly sturdy yet still didn't have a chance in our household. Within minutes of the backpack opening the afternoon they came home, Cal, Brady, and even Cub managed to sniff, lick, and/or get a bite. Robbie wanted to ride around with them on the handlebars of his bike (which we're allowing indoors until he gets better hang of it) which was sooo cute, but ultimately I had to hang them out of reach for fear of more damage.

12 days of Christmas – the Heineken tree

The world famous Heineken tree can be found here in Kapolei. Yes, you’re reading that right. I read about it in the paper a few weeks ago, googled the street, and laughed when I saw that it was a short walk from one of Robbie’s favorite playgrounds. I drove through the neighborhood yesterday at noon and snapped these pictures. The homeowners claim each year in January they take down the tree and recycle the bottles, then over the course of the year they throw block parties and more beer is consumed and bottles saved. I don’t care how many people “donate” to the cause - that is a LOT of beer! One night closer to the holidays we’ll probably take a drive over there and check out the street at night. The whole street plus random houses nearby really decorate. The Heineken tree is also lit. (Pun intended.) Cameras and tripod ready and waiting!

Family tradition

I come from a family of good drivers with good records on the road. But insurance companies would think twice about covering us if they knew what occurred in our driveway. Once my sister (driving my new-used car) ran into her own car, busting my tail light. My Mom has too many incidents to mention here, and she tells the stories better anyway. My Dad surprisingly had the gravest accidents, including running over my foot (luckily, missed my toes and just got my shoe stuck) and sadly, hitting one of the family cats. So it should surprise no one when I did this damage earlier today before heading out to the post office to mail Christmas packages. Not sure which is more disturbing: a) my initial thought was that I’d left my brake on as I felt the resistance of the plant, b) when I realized it was an object and not my brake I thought I hit the stray cat the neighbor has been feeding, or c) I was clearly at least a foot and a half off the concrete.

12 days of Christmas – Scary gingerbread

As a kid, I apprenticed under a master Christmas cookie maker. Every year during the holidays, I would watch in awe as a dear family friend and neighbor made dozens and dozens of cookies to share with us (and have us over for a cookie decorating party, too). So I’m a little embarrassed to share this pic with you today. Last week I made gingerbread cookies and planned to bring them to a holiday party on Friday night. I waited until Friday mid-day to frost and decorate them - and it shows. This was my first attempt. I looked at them and thought, “I can’t bring these! I can’t even let my kids eat them. The cookies look like ghosts and they will get nightmares!” Luckily I stopped this madness after frosting half the cookies this way and opted for a style that was easier on the eye. This second attempt got my approval to bring to the party, but by a nose. Although not that much better, at least they didn’t scare anyone.

12 days of Christmas – Santa snowman

It’s been raining here much of the last 36 hours; so much that the entire state is under a “Brown Water Warning.” I wasn’t able to head outside and take pictures like I’d hoped. Robbie saved me by coming home yesterday with artwork appropriate for the holiday posts. No, I won’t be turning this blog into a virtual fridge anytime soon, but I do enjoy being able to toss items after I’ve scanned or photographed them! This is one Mom who won’t be saving a lot of mementos.

Thanksgiving leftovers

Before Thanksgiving, Robbie came home from school with this in his backpack. I thought it was a fresh take on preschool Turkey Day hand-traced construction paper crafts. Good practice for tracing, cutting, and writing skills. (Robbie is our oldest and first in school, so a lot looks “fresh” right now.) I tried to get him to put it on his head for a photograph, but no luck. It ends up on the floor and is soon picked up by Cub. I get distracted with other things and later notice a few severed “fingers” around the living room. I find the object behind a chair and inspect it for damage.
OK, a shaka! Kinda of cute. So far, so good. Then…Oh no! When did our darling Cub turn into an angry youth?

Movin’ on up

Every once in a while Noel will get a client who lives on Maui. In early November, as a thank you, one of his clients gifted us with a weekend at the Ritz Carlton at Kapalua. The client’s wife’s aunt (or was it aunt’s cousin?) works on staff there. Sounded too good to be true to me, but it turned out fabulous. Our name was in the books, so it was all legit. And we loved it! Who knew you could get accustomed to five-star luxury so quickly?

On the first evening, the housekeeping staff arrives before dinner to turn down your sheets. Unfortunately, the kids had already done that for us. As Noel is declining the service at the door, Cub sprints around him and out into the hallway in just his diaper. Normally pretty cute on its own, but then he gets out of the diaper with one quick and dexterous pull of a tab and he’s really off and running. From inside, I hear the housekeeper shrieking and laughing. A party of six were leaving their rooms and heading to dinner, and Cub runs right for them. “Naked baby! Naked baby!” are now the laughs and chants. I finally get outside and down the hall to scoop him up, but our impact on the Ritz for the night was made!

12 Days of Christmas - City Lights

This weekend in downtown Honolulu, the annual City Lights display comes to life with a tree lighting in front of Honolulu Hale on Saturday night. A larger-than-life Santa flashing his holiday trademark shaka is seen here, a shot from last year's pictures. The Honolulu Hale display more or less marks the kick-off of all holiday displays around the island. Cameras are ready and waiting!

Backyard experiment ends badly

No, this is not a sick twist on my promised 12 days of Christmas posts. This is a follow-up to an earlier note where I tried a gardener’s trick of cutting and replanting. Obviously something has gone wrong. There will be no red ginger blooms from these transplants anytime soon! My neighbor who inspired me originally was in town briefly last week but I missed her. I’ve got to ask her if she had any more luck in her California yard than I did here.

12 days of Christmas decorations

Around Oahu there is a lot of Christmas fun on display. I hope to circle around to various spots and take pictures and share via the blog throughout the month. To get started, here’s a poinsettia taken last December inside the Ko Olina resort.

School days

I spent this past Sunday in a computer lab on the University of Hawaii, Manoa campus. It was a whole day to learn Lightroom 2.1 and otherwise escape from life and be my old self again. I loved it. Maybe too much. The Pacific New Media class was advertised as Intro to Lightroom with no prerequisites, but the instructor taught as if Photoshop was a prerequisite. This wasn’t ideal for me but I learned a lot anyway.

The shot above is one I did a little doctoring to after coming home from the class. I snapped it last June near Robbie’s school, which sits on a decommissioned Navy air base. I don’t know the era of this old hangar, easily Vietnam, maybe older. Since this was taken, I’ve since driven by and one of the doors was kicked in, revealing forgotten junk inside and looking even older.

My Thanksgiving shopping is done. If I don’t have it in the fridge or cupboard by now, I’m going to have to make do without it. I made the cranberry sauce last night; will make the pumpkin pie and cut fruit for a fruit salad later today. I’ll also prep the rest of the stuff for tomorrow, everything but the turkey which I'm not doing. Happy Thanksgiving to me!

Featured artist – wait, that’s me!

I write the monthly newsletter for the local bead society (of which I’m a member of, too) and communicate with some of the bead store owners on the island. Through the newsletter one owner saw a bracelet I made. And long story short, I’m teaching two classes in January. I was asked to send a picture of me over last month for the published class schedule, so I wasn’t surprised when I opened the new class schedule and saw my mug on page 2, but after reading the new classes posted, I’m really honored. There is a lot of new and innvoative stuff coming out of these stores. And about the description – I supplied the copy for the most part with the exception of the first line. You can see the bio and my class online at the www.ibeads.com site. I messed up the sample I supplied for the schedule. It has too much orange in the flower centers. Later revisions are toned down a bit and look better.

What you can get for $1.1 million

It was featured on the news recently (kind of like a “Fleecing of America” local-style): a bathroom in a city park here is going to cost $1.1 million. (Oh excuse me, I believe the term used was “comfort station.”) And no, the toilets aren’t made of gold. It’s a simple concrete structure with the basics. It’s not even bug-proof as it doesn’t have screens. Three words for you: Infrastructure, infrastructure, infrastructure!

It’s just down the street from us, and we drive by it each time we hit the commissary. Original estimates and contracts were over $700K, but the price has now jumped because evidently someone didn’t factor in the cost of connecting the pipes. They need to dig a big ditch from one end of the park where this stands, to the other end where there is another bathroom. For a part of the $300K-plus oversight pie, I think I want to try my hand at ditch digging! Seriously, I’ll rent a CAT and plow through whatever you want me to for a couple of days. Or just take a fat paycheck for repainting it, for as you might be able to see, it has been tagged and will need a good cleaning when it’s finally complete.

Man down

I met with Robbie’s teachers a few weeks ago for a parent-teacher conference and said that we were having trouble getting Robbie to understand and communicate his feelings. She said they had been working on that a little in class, but she could send home some “emotion cards” for us to try using outside of class. They’re working! I was flipping through them last week when I found them in his backpack and said, “Look Robbie. This one is about Mom. I’m sick.”

I caught the bug he had but much worse. I went down hard. On Friday I managed to get to the grocery store, and through the weekend I continued my normal chores and household stuff, but I was in bad shape. I think (and I say this every day) today will be the last of it and tomorrow it will be gone. So keep your fingers crossed for me!

Other cards in the set include the basic emotions of happy, sad, tired, upset, hungry, etc. Parenting skills put to use no doubt in trying to explain the differences between “mad” and “angry.” So far, I’ve been pretty generic, but some day I’m going to get nailed on this one. He’s picking the words up pretty quickly, but Robbie being Robbie, he does like to just play with them and line them up on the table. You can tell he learned a few in school already. When he picked up the “frustrated” card, it was so cute to try to hear him pronounce it – what came out was a cross between frustrated and refrigerator. And as always, be careful what you wish for. As I lay on the couch over the weekend, he comes up and tries to tickle me, thinking it’s funny. I say, “No, Mommy is sick! Please don’t tickle me.” But he continues to anyway, and says, “Mommy, are you mad?” Tickle, tickle.

“Come here, Mommy. You take picture of the snake!”

Robbie has been sick so he’s been out of school. But here that doesn’t mean he’s confined indoors. It’s quite warm and our back deck was shaded through most of the early afternoon, so I let him play outside with his trucks and rocks. Cub was sleeping upstairs and I sat at the kitchen table beading a bracelet in calming silence (loving it!). Robbie comes in and says the above. I don't remember seeing a snake here before but I didn’t want to squash his excitement, so I follow him outside and say to myself, “OK, let’s see what he’s found.” Turns out it was a green gecko with a really long tail moving along the fence.

It really amazes me what he observes while he is out there. To us, he is totally absorbed in this trucks and rocks. He can play for hours, but little of the natural world around gets by him. And it also amazes me what he remembers. Earlier this year, I spotted another gecko on the fence (the green ones are infrequent). I got excited and ran into the house to get the camera. I’m pretty sure Robbie remembered that, and yesterday he was happy to tell me that one was back and he wanted me to take more pictures.

Noel and I are also secretly very happy to see that he can spot photo ops! We’ll be getting an SLR into his hands as soon as we can.

Hawai'i quarter released

We had a great, but too brief, trip to Maui over the weekend. I will be posting some stories and pictures when we can get the pics from the camera. Until then, other news this week: The Hawai'i state quarter was released this past Monday. There was a downtown event where children could get a free quarter, and adults who wanted a whole roll could exchange their $10 for one. I'll have to wait until I get one in circulation! All the states are now released, but it was mentioned that the quarters program will continue with the release of quarters from US territories in future years. This must have been planned; the US Mint doesn't strike me as an institution that can do much on the fly!

This from the official US Mint site:

The fifth and final quarter-dollar coin released in 2008 honors the State of Hawaii, and is the 50th and last coin in the United States Mint’s popular 50 State Quarters® Program. Hawaii, spelled "Hawai’i" in the Hawaiian language, is nicknamed "The Aloha State." It became the 50th state admitted to the Union on August 21, 1959. The release of this quarter signals the end of the ten-year 50 State Quarters Program.

The reverse of Hawaii’s quarter features Hawaiian monarch King Kamehameha I stretching his hand toward the eight major Hawaiian Islands. Inscriptions are the state motto "UA MAU KE EA O KA ‘ĀINA I KA PONO," ("The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness"), "Hawaii" and "1959."

Gold medal winners

Robbie’s costume is revealed!

He was Michael Phelps. Not too much imagination here beyond the fake medals. We didn’t force him to wear goggles or a Speedo. Red ribbon and gold foil paper from the craft store, reused food boxes to cut out circles, and there you go! He liked the idea of chocolate, but wasn’t crazy about putting on a costume, so Noel had to bribe him with some M&Ms before heading out to Trick or Treat. The shot here is a confused guy, not sure what in the world is going on as we are staging in the driveway of our friends’ home. Cal was a much better sport, although equally confused.

Stinks of a right-wing conspiracy!

Public schools on Oahu have the day off. Not sure why, I don’t recall ever getting a holiday for Election Day when I was a kid, but the times they are a changing. Not having to get up and get Robbie ready for the bus allowed me to sleep in. To 6:45 when Cub woke up. Hey, any extra minutes help. ;) I stumble downstairs a little after 7:00 and turn on CNN. But the volume wasn’t working! Darn cable, it’s always something here. I realize it’s going to be a pretty long day, so I take a deep breath, mumble the title of this entry, and turn my attention to morning chores. When I check about 30 minutes later, all is good. Whew! Crisis diverted for now.

Polls in Hawaii opened at 7:00, and I’m going to go out on a limb and call Hawaii for Obama. Lately Hawaii and Illinois have been fighting over the rights to call itself Obama’s home state. I consider myself neutral, and I don’t think Illinois has much more to claim than that’s where he settled as an adult. But that’s just me. As you may have read, Obama’s Grandmother passed away yesterday. Tributes are flowing in to the media outlets here. All I can think is that she must have desperately tried to make it even 36 more hours. No reports yet for Obama to come back for any services.

There are a few closely-watched local issues of note. Oahu residents are voting “Yes / No” on light rail. Windward residents (and taxi-cab lobbyists) are against it. Most Leeward residents are more or less for it. The mayoral race isn’t close, but interesting. The incumbent is pushing for rail, the challenger flip-flopped on the rail issue within the last month and now supports some whacked elevated freeway plan that would run from Kapolei to downtown. Driving through downtown traffic on Halloween evening Noel and I saw Dog the Bounty Hunter and his wife Beth. They were stumping for Mufi, the incumbent mayor, near the City Hall building. Holding campaign signs and waving to passing motorists. That’s campaigning, local style! I was driving and my camera was in the trunk. Doh!

I’m not sure how long I can stay in the house today watching the TV news. I could very well go bonkers, so may take a break and go stimulate the economy at the Mall with some early holiday shopping. We’ll also be helping the state economy this weekend when we head over to Maui on the Superferry! Dog sitter lined up, hotel reserved; I think we’re a go.

Halloween preview

Before sitting down to work on Robbie's costume earlier this week, I snapped this picture. Here are the "raw" materials needed for his look, sans Scotch tape and glue which I forgot I needed until I was knee-deep in the project. Cub doesn't have a costume, I'm just not that into it for his age. We'll be trick or treating tomorrow with some friends who are throwing a party for the kids.

DIY pumpkin patch

The only pumpkin patch on Oahu is close to us, on a local road between Ewa and Kapolei. It’s a farm that plants lots of pumpkins and opens its fields to the masses every year before Halloween. They let kids of all ages run up and down the rows and pick fresh pumpkins out of the mineral-rich red dirt that covers the ground.

I started my last job about this time two years ago, and my new boss, with kids of her own in elementary school, asked me if I was going to take Robbie to the pumpkin patch.

Each year before Cub came along I’ve actually loaded Robbie in the car, headed down the hill, and driven by the farm. There are no trees or shade, only miles of red dirt and I just couldn’t stop. It looked dirty and hot and dusty and messy. I know, I know, poor excuses for not letting your son have some fun but still I didn’t stop. When my boss heard this, she smiled sympathetically, and proceeded to tell me how she does it. It went something like this: “First you dress in old, dirty clothes and tennis shoes. Pretty much nothing you might want to wear again. Or plastic shoes you can wash. Then you tarp the seats and the floorboards of the car with plastic so your seats and carpets don’t get dirty. But still dust as much dirt off as you can before entering the car. Once home, take off everything before you get in the house.”

So it should be no surprise when I say we still have not gone to the pumpkin patch! And I don’t plan to. But I wanted some sort of pumpkin experience, so I picked up a large pumpkin and three smaller pumpkins at the commissary (.48 cents a pound!). We love them anyway.

The curious case of the roadside Krispy Kreme

The road that leads out of Kapolei toward the beach is a two lane road that passes the high school and ends at the former gates of the decommissioned Barber’s Point Naval Station. And it desperately needs widening as it is guaranteed to be backed up in the afternoon and evening almost every day of the week. Along the way, a unique bunch of entrepreneurs set up shop. Some days you’ll see flower buckets, some days local fish catches and homemade pastales. Around graduation, you see a ton of lei and balloon stands. One weekend afternoon it even doubled as a garage sale as one family tried to unload some bikes that their kids had outgrown. But one item dumbfounds me – lately there have been a lot of folks selling Krispy Kreme donuts, stacked neatly on the table in the boxes they would get in the store. Except that the closest Krispy Kreme location, and the only in the state, is on Maui. Noel and I have both observed folks bringing extra boxes home to share with family while sitting in the Maui airport waiting to head back to Oahu. But I just have to wonder the path that the ones sitting on the roadside in Kapolei take. They must be like Twinkies and have a long shelf life. Maybe I don’t want to go there…

Red ginger backyard experiment

Our immediate neighbor is a family from Milpitas, CA (right near where I used to work). They own their Hawaiian home as a second, vacation home and they come out every month or so to visit friends and family on Oahu. A few months back, my neighbor, a great gardener, (I swear sometimes they come over for a few days just to weed their side yard and vegetable gardens. Couldn’t we all be so lucky!) knocks on my door and asks if she can cut a few of the red ginger blooms we have in our side yard (planted by a landscaper last year – I cannot take credit for them). She was heading back home and was going to try to grow them at her yard in the Bay Area. Knowing all Mainland-bound flights go through strict agriculture inspections, I asked her how she was going to get them there. Apparently, if all the dirt is completely washed off and you declare them, you’re good to go. Wait, I’m sidetracking myself…what I really learned that day was that you can cut them and then replant them and they grow into larger bushes with a single cut. So I’m trying that with my own red ginger slips - that's what they're called, right? - cut freshly from one side of our yard and inserted into a planter box a few feet away. If you know my Mom and her beautiful gardens, you’d think I’d be a great gardener. You’d be wrong! But I’m learning as I go and having fun even if my kill rate is alarmingly high. You will know if I am succeeding if you see spectacular photographs of lush, blooming red ginger in the future!

Disney reveals detailed Ko Olina resort plans

Late last week, Disney Parks and Resorts unveiled sketches and pictures for the planned hotel and spa at Ko Olina. For those who have been to the man-made Ko Olina coves or the Marriot Ihilani resort, the Disney resort will sit on the first cove, and across the street from the Ihilani driveway. They say it will include 350 hotel rooms and 480 timeshare vacation villas on 21 acres of oceanfront property, and has 3,000+ square feet for the spa alone. You’ve got to wonder how they will squeeze all of that in, but it’s already mapped out, as seen in one of the drawings above. The grand opening isn't scheduled until late 2011, so I hope the economy will pick up by then so that more friends can come out here for vacation and we can see you!

When good affiliates go bad

The fate of aviator Steve Fossett is no longer news. But it was on the night I tivo’d a program on the local ABC channel. When I watched it days later, I was both appalled and annoyed by the information ticker that appeared with a story they would run with the late news. It reads: “Wreckage spotted? Steve Fossetts stuff found”.

Allow me to gripe!

First, let’s start with the smiling anchor team bringing the confirmation of someone’s death. Shouldn’t they have an alternate image on hand when the words they are posting onscreen aren’t so good? And is this really news worthy of a program interruption? It’s not like his remains were found in the Koolau Mountains here on Oahu. He was found where they’d been looking for him for a year. Next, the use of “stuff.” A little respect here, please! That “stuff” turned out to be his remains.

And finally, a grammar goof. More proof that the public schools here might be as bad as they say. I’m guessing that the affiliate has one person entering the ticker text and a second person does not proofread. But they should. It was all I could do to not take a Sharpie to our TV set and add that missing apostrophe. But as noted in a previous post, it’s our only set. Marking it up would not have gone over well with my better half.

Editor’s note: Sorry for that weird, orange glow donned by actor Peter Krauss. It's not a spray tan gone bad. When I’m too lazy to import photos into Lightroom, another editing tool does this when I crop images.

The audacity to ask for $5,000

Up until this year, Noel was not a registered voter. So there’s no other way to explain why he has been receiving contribution solicitations from the McCain campaign other to figure that his name and address were handed over from the military. Oh, and one other tip - John thanks him for his military service. I read the letters as I go through the mail and just laugh at the “scary” thoughts. “If you are at all concerned about the prospect of the Democrats gaining total control of the federal government, then your help is needed right now.” Concerned? Hardly.

But this weekend brought about a new low. Literally as McCain and Palin are making headlines at campaign rallies by attacking Obama’s so-called character issues and associations, a new solicitation arrives, boldly proclaiming, “We must make this campaign about the issues.” And this gem: “As we have already witnessed, the Obama Democrats and their special interest allies are willing to say and do anything to defeat me and all our Republican candidates.” Sorry John, but isn’t that what you’ve asked Sarah to do? Then he had the nerve to ask us, who he is assuming is a military family, for $5,000. “It’s the only way we can defeat the Democrats bid for the White House!” Also included in the mailing was a full letter-size FedEx overnight envelope with the air bill filled out.

I showed it to Noel and asked him what he would like to send to McCain instead of a $5,000 check. I would like to send a scathing letter how he lost my respect when he picked Palin as his VP. Noel suggested the Obama campaign sign that our housing association requested we remove from our front window (all campaign signs are against the bylaws – we got away with it for over three months). He also mentioned an unmentionable, and on second thought said, “Well, maybe not. I think that’s a federal offense.”

Riverside wedding scrapblog

About the Riverside wedding scrapblog

The pictures in the post above are from the wedding we attended in Riverside last month made through Scrapblog. It might take a while to load, if you’re having trouble, click the View Full Size link for another window. The pictures aren’t that great, but I think they convey the spirit of the couple and of the evening. Yes, the ceremony was in their backyard and they held the reception in their cul-de-sac!

A few days ago I clicked a link on the right (a huge no-no in the ad world, but hey, they’re going to make some money off me!) and found one of those online scrapbooking sites. I normally don’t do that sort of thing. Actually, I dislike the real, paper version because it’s wasteful and you end up with stuff that just collects dust on your closet shelf (and in my case, you have to pay movers to move), but this virtual thing I can do! Easy, fun interface with lots of templates. Also something called the "Ken Burns Effect" but I didn't play around with it. Click on the right when the Scraplog ad pops up again and see for yourself! ;)

Flyin' Hawaiians

Good friends Jenn and Mike are in Maui this week for an island vacation. For Jenn, a time to snorkel and relax on the beach with a good book. For Mike, a lifelong Phillies fan, it's a pilgrimage to the homeland of Phillies outfielder, Shane Victorino, aka the Flyin’ Hawaiian. Victorino is somewhat of a common name around the islands, recently I’ve even seen it on a custom license plate. When Mike stumbled on this election sign for a local council race, he stopped for a pic. Kudos to Mike for displaying a respectful shaka, outstretched fingers low and close to the chest, not flung over his head in a wild panic. Mahalo!

We're not normal

Ever find yourself sitting in a lecture and re-organizing the outline in your head? Rephrasing some of the main points of the presentation because you understand what the presenter is trying to get across but he isn’t doing that great of a job? I found myself doing that last week during a parent workshop. (I know, pretty annoying. That’s not the worst of my editing traits. I pointed out to Noel during a routine drive home recently that the font had changed on some of the new freeway signs and they were now inconsistent with the old signs. I believe I left him completely baffled.)

PBSHawaii reaches out to the public schools here via a “Ready to Learn” Parent Workshop. I signed up happily when the flyer came home in Robbie’s backpack one day and didn’t need the teaser “Free Books!” to get me there. Over the course of the hour and a half, the presenter meandered along, making good points here and there, but what I kind of took out of the session was the idea that, “Hey, the TV will be on in your house. We understand that. That’s why you should watch PBS Kids programming, and here’s why.” He ran through a few programs, gave their history, explained some of the ways that the programs help children in reading, writing, etc., and pointed out which program has the endorsement of the National Education Association. (Extremely rare. I think it was this group, could have been the Teachers Association. I don’t see it in my notes now.)

The presenter’s rambling discussion on technology and early adoption lead to an interesting, yet not that shocking discussion on the digital learner. One talking point: cell phones with TV capability is around the corner and TV stations are already addressing this platform in their future programming plans. Then, somewhat out of order, he polled the group of 25 or so parents, ”How many televisions do you have in your house?” I was the only one in the room who said one. The rest said 3 and 4, one might have said 5. The presenter didn’t seem to think this was shocking, he said, “No that’s not too bad. I’ve had one family in [the Waianae area] who had 13. Awful. But to be fair, it was a multigenerational family in one house.” One other almost-laugh-out-loud comment: “Don’t watch the Cartoon Network.”

Along with our free books (Sesame Street board books for Cub, Curious George and other goodies for Robbie), I concluded that I think we’re doing OK with our daily reading and TV watching. And that may not be normal.

If you’re interested in online resources, in addition to www.pbskids.org, check out these recommended sites: Reading is Fundamental (www.rif.org) and the International Reading Association (www.reading.org).

Monday funnies

This goes out to anyone who might need a good laugh right about now. I’ve seen this ad run regularly in the Honolulu Advertiser for a while, maybe even a year, and I finally had to say something about it.

I love the claim of all the ailments he can fix (see surprisingly long list and the “We treat more than shown” comment?!), and the Oscar-winning emotion on the face of the patient on the left, not to mention the pose she strikes. This doctor is not helping the cause of chiropractors, who already have a pretty bad rap. Somewhere in his medical training he also snuck in beauty school, too, as the patient on the right has new, tight braids and her gray is gone! What really stretches the plausibility for me though is the implied notion that this guy can restore your former self. Or transform older patients into their grandchildren. Because there is no way he can make the senior citizen pictured on the left lose 50+ years and take up mountain biking!

Happy Birthday to Cub!

Our little angel baby Cub turns one today. He's currently motoring through the house on two feet, making his way a little longer each time. We're not going to do much today to celebrate. Over the weekend we'll probably have Grandma and Grandpa Tipon over for dinner and birthday cake, then we might hit the beach. We will not be having the Hawaiian traditional "baby luau" where they throw a huge party for the 1st birthday. I'm just not that into those things.

I thought that I might try to trim his hair a little bit, as his baby mullet was beginning to bug me. But watching the VP debate last night, I realize he doesn't have a baby mullet - it's a Joe Biden mullet! That being the case, I think I'll let him rock the 'do through the election.

Open casting call: Amazing Race partner needed

A new season of Amazing Race started last night and I’m excited! There was a tiny Tivo snafu, so I didn’t get it taped, but that has been resolved and I’m ready for next week.

I’ve loved the show since it premiered years ago. I’ve watched all the seasons and have wanted to do it about as long as it has been on air. I threw out the idea to Noel shortly after we got married: Why don’t we try out? We’re an interracial couple; he’s military (and now Iraq veteran to boot). Me? I’m not even photogenic. I think all I bring to the table is that I’m white and well-endowed, but the producers might bite and give us a try anyway.

To my surprise, he said no to the idea and explained that we might kill each other. Darn it if he isn’t right. I’ve got to admit my husband is on point this time. We would need a Dr. Phil intervention immediately after the first Road Block. But that has not snuffed the flame of desire to be a racer! So I ask you, my good friends and faithful readers, do you want to go on the show with me? I might whine a bit during a few hair-raising, high-flying stunts and will throw in the towel completely if I had to do a meat eating challenge, but other than that, I’d be a good partner and we’d have a lot of fun. So, who’s with me?

Lightroom makes a comeback

OK, maybe not a comeback, but it's restored. For a few months now, my Lightroom installation was down. Wouldn't launch, couldn't access it at all. So I was going to throw in the towel and just install the new 2.0. But tonight I was running through some pictures (I finally joined Facebook and need a head shot...) and was able to launch it. Here's a shot from last June that looked kind of pretty. Have a good weekend, all! Oh, and if you're on Facebook, throw me an "Add as friend"!

Wedding preview – what a snooze!

I tease. The wedding was not a bore, as the picture above would suggest. The gathering in Riverside, CA, this past Sunday was a beautiful tribute to love, family, friends, community, and free spirits. Stories and pictures to follow in the coming week!

California eats

Cub and I returned mid-day Tuesday from another quick trip to California. This time we flew to San Diego to visit friends for a few days, and then drove up to Riverside for the wedding of a long-time family friend on Sunday afternoon. (It’s been a long wedding season for the Tipon Family but it’s finally over. Hallelujah. Five weddings since late March: one in Maryland, the other four in California.)

But back to our trip. Ahhh, California - what other superlatives can I throw on you, my birthplace! Friends, family, fun, and good food – you have them all. I grew up in CA and have traveled a fair bit, and I just don’t get the food in Hawaii sometimes. It doesn’t hold a candle to some of what the Golden State has to offer. And I’m not even speaking of restaurants. All of these dishes pictured here were whipped up in an impressive evening of culinary mastery by my beloved friend Di in her home kitchen. Yum! She wasn’t done Friday, either. I crashed at her home upon my return from Riverside on Monday night (displacing her sister-in-law from her own bedroom), and she continued to whip up the treats. She made cookies, but I was in such awe I forgot to snap a picture.

I love this picture! It looks like she's daring me to tackle this one at home. You bet I will! I want the recipe.

I have photogenic friends and family!

The highlight of my Sunday morning perusal of the paper (or late afternoon or evening, whatever time I can grab that day) usually consists of finding a $2.00 off coupon for diapers. Sadly, this is true. Imagine my delight when I find not one, but two people that I know pictured within the various sections!

First we have Johnny, my nephew, who sat atop a large pumpkin this time last year, had his picture taken, and created a media storm. OK, well at least a media storm in our family as the picture was distributed around the world to various news outlets! I was out in Riverside, CA, this weekend with my sister, her daughter Sarah, my Mom, and Cub to attend a wedding. Late Sunday night after getting Cub to sleep, Mom and I were reading in our hotel room and winding down from the day’s events. I’m flipping through the Travel section of the Riverside paper and there’s Johnny, once again atop that pumpkin! The photo ran with an AP article advertising the upcoming pumpkin festival in Half Moon Bay. I gasp, show my Mom, we crack up, and I head over to my sister’s room (via adjoining doors) and literally wake her up to show her. (It sounds pretty cold of me as she has a 5-week old and her sleep is frequently disrupted, but I don’t think she minded.) If you spotted it in your local paper, please let me know.

Then just yesterday, after arriving back in Honolulu, I was looking for Johnny in what remained of Sunday’s paper back home. I’m casually looking at some food items in the USA Weekend supplement when my friend Elsa’s picture pops up at me from page 4. She has modeled for stock photography, and here she is above with a pseudo family ordering a meal. The picture above is a bit grainy because I scanned the paper as I couldn’t find it online.

Return of the fish hat

…and the return of shirtless children!*

I received a knit fish hat as a shower gift from great friends when I was pregnant with Robbie. I have tried to get a few good shots of Cub wearing it, but I haven’t had much luck yet. It was next to the camera a few weeks ago and Robbie decided to put it on and run around the house. Except that it’s a bit small for him now, so he sported it yarmulke-style and tilted a bit (fish tail on the side). Here he is above, mouth full of graham crackers and a big smile for the fish hat.

Here’s another of the two below. It’s not a great shot – the boys are tugging at a toy and about to knock each other over, but I love the dogs in the background, patiently waiting for graham crackers to fall to the ground in the scuffle. When Robbie first started crawling, we were really worried about Brady. She would growl and look scared whenever he neared her. But then the “miracle of the Cheerios” happened and we haven’t been worried since. One day Robbie got restless and bored in his highchair and started flinging Cheerios at the dogs resting on the floor. Once a baby becomes a Cheerios dispenser, all is right in the Beagle-Basset Hound world.

* Ahh, yes, the kids are shirtless again. I really do dress them, you know. I think this particular morning Cub had just pooped through a onesie and Robbie had spilled juice down the front of his shirt within minutes of each other, so I stripped them both. I guess I took these pictures between that and getting them dressed again. But don’t worry, they’re not cold. It’s still hot here and very humid in the house at times.

Sweet treats

I came home after a trek to the grocery store a few months back with an unwanted item – someone had inadvertently placed a box of Trix cereal in my bags. Maybe they were inadvertently placed on my side of the grocery divider and I paid for them, I can’t remember. Anyway, I tried a small bowl with milk they way you’re supposed to eat them and they’re awful. Noel’s not much of a cereal eater and there’s no way I’d ever give them to Robbie, so I tried something I’ve wanted to do for a while: make Rice Krispie treats. I cook and bake from scratch a lot, yet somehow never made them before. I made them with Trix, so I guess they’d be Trix treats.
Following the surprisingly easy directions on the back of the marshmallow bag (I always thought they were ultra messy being sticky and all. Not so with the microwave instructions!) I came up with what you see above. I must admit, the first day they were bad. I thought, wow, I just ruined a perfectly good bag of marshmallows I could have made s’mores with! But after a day in the fridge (not sure if this is what you do with them…the marshmallow bag failed me on storage tips) they taste better. Like a fine wine, this junk food gets better with age. Straight out of the fridge it’s a bit tricky to pry them out of the pan, but once in your hands you feel like a kid again eating carnival food. I might make them again because they look fun and festive, but only for big kids. I do enough laundry and furniture stain spotting already!