Sorry Brady, we won't be cloning you

Did you all see the pictures of the cloned beagles and their red toenails and slightly tinted undersides? Weird science for sure. We love our beagles but we won't be cloning them anytime soon. No way. They're too much work. And Brady has single-handily made us curse our decision to get carpet upstairs on more than one occasion. I've had this picture of Brady ready to post for a few weeks, but keep forgetting about it. I was in the backyard shooting geckos and look over to see her hanging out in the sun. I would like to say she was doing her own gecko impression with her neck folds, but sadly, she's just "a big girl" and the collar is in an unkind-to-the-camera position. (And she's a bagel - basset hound and beagle mix.) I don't understand why everyone is concerned about fat dogs. Why? They're dogs. Let them do what they want. We rescued her and she's living the good life. What's the big deal?

Friday Funnies

More from my misadventures in local advertising: Looking through the entertainment pullout in the paper this morning, this ad made me laugh. The concept of a "bailout sale" is pretty good, and the staggered percentage off unique. But I have to say, I have no idea what they sell! The guy without a shirt certainly doesn't scream out "Evening Gowns, Belts & Shoes, Bags & Accessories" to you, does it? But I think the most laugh-out-loud bit is the "SALE INDEFINITELY WHILE THE ECONOMY IS BAD!" And trademarked, no less! (Might be hard to see here, but there is a small "TM" after the exclamation point.) Who makes this stuff up? I do not think they were doing this to brighten my Friday morning routine.

And, oh yes, the SPAM Jam is this weekend in Waikiki. Problem is, it's right in the heart of the area on Kalakaua which is normally pretty busy. Add to that a Sheryl Crow concert at the Waikiki Shell less than a mile from the Jam, and traffic and parking could get ugly. We'll see if we venture out that way.

SPAM alert

I was running errands and ended up at one of the new Target stores yesterday. I couldn't help but to take this picture. I got some looks from the locals. This SPAM display has been there since the store opened. It reminds me...the annual SPAM Jam is coming up soon, I think this month in Waikiki. It's a fundraiser for a local food bank. I might try to check it out just for the fun of it, although I'll never eat the stuff.

An eco-friendly idea on Earth Day

I must be getting old; I read about this idea just last week and I just can't remember the source. So, some of you may have already seen this, but worth a re-look: using cereal boxes as book, DVD, and magazine holders. Re-use cardboard boxes and organize your stuff at the same time! My samples are above - two small boxes holding some of my cooking magazines and small cookbooks, as well as another holding DVDs for the kids. I didn't cover them up yet, but I can easily see covering them with used wrapping paper to give it a little better look if it's in an area that might be seen. Larger boxes should easily hold larger magazines - saving money if you (like us) in the past have purchased those pricey plastic models from the office store.

Enjoy the green day, everyone!

Stamps

As I understand it, my Dad started a stamp collection as a young kid to get a Boy Scout badge. He was into it for a while past his scouting days and eventually kept his albums in a closet in our house. As a kid myself, what I saw of his "collecting" was watching him read the mail when he came home from the office everyday, and if there were any commemorative stamps on the envelopes, he'd cut them out and place them in a box upstairs. While in St. Lucia, I also started saving the stamps I received from fellow Peace Corps volunteers in the West Indies - mostly because they were so unique! Some time after my Dad died, I took the contents of his stamp box home with me to Maryland. A few years after we settled here, I brought back the old albums he started as a kid and put them in my closet. I still save the stamps I like and have to thank my family who indulge me in this with mail from home (and also don't mind when I go through their mail and cut up their envelopes!!). The other day I realized my "box of stamps" - a drawer near the kitchen - is getting pretty full. A partial shot of my "collecting" is above.

Happy 95th!

Birthday greetings go out today to my Grandma who turns 95! Who says you're too old to have "firsts?" On Sunday, she got stuck in an elevator for the first time in her life when the power went out in her assisted living home. "One minute seemed like one hour!" Good to have a sense of humor at that age as she can still make the witty jokes and remarks. When she tells folks her age, she says she "has to nearly pick them up off the floor." Here's her great-grandaughter Sarah (aka my niece) in a birthday hat. Sarah's Dad originally sent me the pic for my birthday last month, but seemed perfect to share today.

All hail the...

I was taking pictures of a small bloom inside the plants along our backyard fence when an old friend popped up from within the leaves to say hello! I call him Chief. At least I think this is the one I call Chief. I try to tell them apart by the markings on their head, but this might not be right. Anyway, he's Chief because for a long time he reined atop the most wanted fence post in the yard. Any given day I could usually find him out there if it was sunny enough. And he's longer and a bit bigger than the others I typically see. He also seems less bothered by me and doesn't squirm away quickly like some others. I just noticed this weekend that I think another guy has taken the fence post from him. We'll see if he retakes it.

Happy Easter!

Hope everyone is enjoying the day, whether it's filled with candies or just a nice, relaxing Sunday. I sent cupcakes to school with Robbie earlier this week. His teacher reported back that the kids loved them. Here's a few extra that managed to make it back home in pretty good shape.

Friends in DC (technically, on the move right now, check them out) first introduced me to the Peeps contest held by the Washington Post. They're hysterical!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/gallery/2009/04/10/GA2009041001975.html?nav=hcmoduletmv

And the 2008 winners if you'd like more:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/gallery/2008/03/21/GA2008032101983.html

Egg-cellent idea!

OK, forgive the cheesy title, I couldn't resist! Here's a few fun Easter egg ideas that ran in today's paper. I remember Easter eggs and PAAS coloring kits as a kid, but if you don't have one on hand, you can make do with food coloring, vinegar, and boiling water. And eggs, of course. At www.McCormick.com/Easter, somewhere in there they also provide a "color creator tool" to figure out how to get the colors you want. (Note to self to use this with cookies and cupcakes, too!) Want fancy speckled eggs? Sponge paint using drops of dye mixed with a few drops of vinegar. Tie-dye eggs? Place a hard-boiled egg in a colander in the kitchen sink. Splash the egg with vinegar, drop food coloring onto it and shake the colander gently to spread the color. Wait 30 seconds, then repeat with different colors. Wash the eggs to soften the colors and let them dry. Yes, those are jelly beans above, not Easter eggs. We haven't made any eggs so nothing to share yet. :)

Easter card photo outtake

Crying, cold, and restless kids. Blurred hands and faces. Needed photo equipment left at home. Yes, all of this and more when I'm at the helm of a photo shoot! I waited too late (as usual) and was running out of daylight to get a photo of the two boys so I could mail a few Easter cards in time for Saturday delivery. And the results showed! Here's an outtake. Love the location in our neighborhood; that's about the only good decision I made.

Spring break is over

Back to school for Robbie today, so it's just me and Cub at the house. The two weeks went fast with the help of visiting family. Time for me to catch up with the cleaning chores and other stuff I happily neglected for over two weeks. (Yes, I do clean. Just not very good at it.)

Sunday at the Farmers Market

Our little four year old has been saying some cute things lately. I know, re-telling funny bits can get old quickly, so I don't write much. But this was good, so I'll share. The closest Farmers Market to our home is the Sunday morning market in Mililani. It's in the parking lot of the high school, about 25 minutes away. They also have large recycle bins, so I maximize the trip and load up the back of the car with our recyclables (there is only a few areas on Oahu with curbside pickup so our stuff backs up in the garage) and shop for some goodies. Once a month -or less- I make this trek. So today was the day. As we're pulling into the parking lot I announce, "Here we are at the Farmers Market!" Robbie replies, "Are we going to buy sheep, Mommy?" He'd been studying farms at school and that's what he knows about farms.

No, no sheep at the Farmers Market. Just some fruit and veggies. I got there too late for the fresh basil, so no pesto at our house for a while, either. But I did treat Robbie to a cookie. I thought he'd like the M&M-adorned yummy. And I was right! Also a plus was the packaging. I had a hard time cutting it open with our dull kitchen scissors once home, so there's no way there are crumbs in the car. :)

I gave him one wedge of the cookie at a time. When he asked for a second wedge, he asked for the "green and brown" chocolate (M&Ms). I looked at the cookie and sure enough, that was the next section I would break off. What he observes and remembers amazes me. I let him hold the cookie on the way home in the car and he probably didn't take his eyes off it the whole time.

The fine art of holding on

I've become completely fascinated with my backyard geckos. I run out and take a couple pictures at least once or twice a day. Hence, I'll be posting a "gecko cam" picture once a week or so. (Sorry, no live action camera, but wouldn't that be fun!) I still don't know much about them, but I seem to have the same two or three appear at some point everyday along the fence and in the bushes. I can even find them now in areas where I previously wouldn't have spotted them. Like this little guy. He's "gecko two" or "gecko three." I might get around to naming them, just like I've named the neighborhood rooster. Is that weird? Are the geckos turning into my Wilson volleyball?? I did actually say good morning to one earlier today.

Oahu shipping news

Damaged coral? No s%#$! The Advertiser reports today that the state intends to file claims against the Navy for damage to coral and costs related to the oops when the Port Royal ran aground near the Honolulu airport and got stuck for 3 ½ days. The state says pictures taken of the damage indicate that the section of coral has been “scarred” and needs to be repaired quickly or the damage will get worse. Not mentioned today, but noted previously, a coral superglue exists that is used by marine biologists to stick coral back together. Who knew?

The Superferry is dead, long live the Superferry. Superferry operations ended abruptly late last week when the Hawaii Supreme Court ruled that the State acted illegally when it allowed the Superferry to run simultaneously with an ongoing EIS investigation. The boat sailed out of Honolulu Harbor on Saturday, headed to Alabama, where the company plans to lease it out to other agencies running ferry services elsewhere. We loved the service and we will miss it.

Fire her up! Heard the “are they or are they not?” buzz about North Koreans launching a rocket? Well, folks in the know want the Navy to send the SBX Radar out to the middle of the Pacific as a preemptive measure. It looked like it was going nowhere yesterday. It’s moored off of Ford Island and we spotted it from the monorail we were riding at the local mall. (Spring break treat for Robbie!)