Goodbye 2010!

Here's one last shot of 2010...Robbie taking pictures with my iPhone. While I was trying to get a decent shot of Cub for the holiday cards (the boy just doesn't sit still long!), I gave Robbie my phone and he took a few images in the small park near our house. So, I guess you could call this our holiday card outtake for the year. I was quick to delete some "bad" images right off the camera because my card space was low. I realized later I probably deleted a couple of true outtakes that were pretty funny.
Happy New Year, all! Be safe out there. All the best in 2011.

Done!

I finished my ornaments before the 25th this year. That would have been fine if we were in California. But we were not, so they were mailed late. Living here, I know I shouldn’t be against sending large gift packages, but for some reason I don’t want to. I like to make small, handmade, non-breakable gifts that fit in small envelopes. I don’t want to have to stand in line for postage and I can drop them into a blue, street-side post office box with a lot of stamps. Another bonus? While the cut-off for guaranteed large package delivery from Hawai’i to the Mainland usually falls between the 15th and the 20th, in years past I’ve mailed things as late as the 21st and 22nd and items were received on the West Coast. Nice!
Beaded and quilted items do the trick, and luckily, that’s what I like to do. This year I made gingerbread quilt blocks. All the materials (except for the ribbon used to make bows – and that only cost me $2.00) were already on hand, purchased years ago for other projects and just waiting to be used up. The gingerbread are made of brown ultrasuede, hand-stitched around the sides with DMC embroidery floss. All other fabrics are standard cotton quilt fabrics in reds and greens, of which I have plenty! I had fun breaking out my sewing machine again and loved diving into my fabric stash (the only downside is that I did irritate Noel one too many times when he came home from work and found the ironing board set up in the kitchen). Sorry friends and family, I think you’ll be seeing a lot of these in the holiday seasons to come. Beaded ornaments just might be on the backburner for a while.

12 Days of Christmas: After-Christmas sale SCORE

Noel and I dropped the boys off with the grandparents yesterday and went to the mall for an evening movie. Although Noel suspects it, I did not know their was a Hallmark store right next door to the ticket window. (I *did* know their was one at the mall and that's partly why I chose that location for the movie, but we were late so I thought my chance was gone.) We had five minutes before the store closed and I ran in. Sweet! They had the Polar Express ornament the other store had sold out of. And 50% off! I was going to get only one, but Noel encouraged me to get two. The boys, playing with their Santa ornament deliveries as toys, had already broken a few. So Noel thought a spare would be a good idea. Oh, no no no. These babies aren't going to be seen by the boys, at least not this year. I'm sticking them in the Xmas garage box today, maybe Santa will deliver them next year! Or maybe the boys will have one each in the very far future when they have their own trees.

12 Days of Christmas: Inspiring gifts

Merry Christmas to all! Here's to family, friends, and good health. Hope everyone is enjoying all today. This lovely beaded table runner was a gift for me. Beautiful and inspiring...oh, the things I can make next year.

12 Days of Christmas: Christmas lights!

After dinner with the boys last night, I made Noel drive through a Kapolei neighborhood that goes all out with light displays. It's the same neighborhood with the Heineken tree -and yes, it's still there. They didn't disappoint with the display this year. I think the boys liked it a lot, maybe because there's even a train that circles under the Heineken tree. We might go by once more in the next few days and get out and walk around a bit - last night we were kind of in a hurry to get to the store for the one more thing I needed for my ornaments.

12 Days of Christmas: Almost homemade cookies

I wanted to bring some sweets to a Christmas party last Friday, but didn’t think I’d have the time to do iced sugar cookies or gingerbread like I wanted to. I found Betty Crocker Pumpkin Spice cookie mix in the grocery store (placed right where they wanted me to see – and buy - on the end of the aisle) and picked up a package. I don’t even know if I’ve had pumpkin spice cookies before, but I love pumpkin bread and I love pumpkin spice lattes from Starbucks, so I tried them. Yum! If you love the seasonal latte like I do, you are going to like this cookie. I followed package directions except for the baking times. I needed an extra 3-4 minutes and a few still turned out a little gooey. The packaging also says to use Betty Crocker Cream Cheese frosting (of course), but I mixed up my own quick frosting of powdered sugar, melted butter, milk, and a drop of vanilla. I drizzled on the frosting, let it set for a bit, then plated them and headed to the party. Sorry, no time for even a cell phone picture.
I really want to make my own now. I checked out the ingredients and other than the typical cookie ingredients, they had a couple of different flours, “pumpkin flakes,” and a number of spices they wouldn’t list. I think I’ll try to tweak a basic sugar cookie recipe by adding a little wheat flour, brown sugar, pumpkin puree, and pumpkin pie spices. That will have to be after Christmas…I’m close to finishing my ornaments, but I think I’m throwing in the towel to have them finished, mailed, and delivered on time.

12 Days of Christmas: Santa Claus Station postmark

I received the 2010 postmarked item from Santa Claus, Indiana. I think it's kind of fun, but I know not everyone is into stamps and all. It's not too late to get something with the special cancellation, but it is too late to get it back to you by the 24th. This from a third-party site:
If you want to have the Santa Claus Post Office add a picture postmark and then send your holiday mail onwards to your recipients, package all your cards and letters -with postage stamps affixed-in a sturdy envelope or box, and mail to:
Santa Claus Postmark
Postmaster
Santa Claus Station
Santa Claus, IN 47579-9998
Be sure to send your box or envelopes early. The post office should receive them no later than December 15 to ensure Christmas delivery.

Soup of the Day

Here's one of my favorite things to make with a big bag of baby carrots from Costco: Carrot soup. Shockingly not local for me, but inexpensive, filling, and good for days I wake up and vow to eat less sugar.
Starting in a large soup pot, I sauté 1.5 - 2 white or yellow onions with 1-2 tablespoons of minced garlic in a generous amount of olive oil. I add a ton of coarsely chopped carrots, let cook for a minute, season with a hearty dash of black pepper, then add chicken or vegetable stock to cover the carrots by an inch or two. This time I used two entire boxes of stock, and needed more liquid, so I added 2 cups water. Let it boil and/or simmer for at least 25 minutes, then purée with an immersion blender. Serve immediately or store in glass jars in the fridge. I'd guess that is anywhere from 4-8 servings. I filled four glass pasta sauce jars.
Today is a good day for soup (but truth be told, even on the hottest summer days here I make soup - one of the quirks I picked up living in St. Lucia). We're expecting a lot of rain to pass through starting as early as tomorrow. That means cooler temps, yet nothing you need a jacket or long sleeves for. It's humid so we'll probably have the AC on for a few minutes per our usual.
An interesting note about baby carrots - they're just a typical variety carrot processed through large machines to look that way. First they're sent through a peeler and then a cutter to shape smaller carrots and round the corners. (I assume any bits leftover from this process are used for shredded carrots used in packaged salads, and what remains after that, probably goes to making something like commercial stocks. ?) I must have been watching The Food Network or some cooking segment somewhere to learn this, don't quite recall now. I rarely buy unpeeled carrots these days. Just because it's less work, I take the shortcuts.

12 Days of Christmas: Gingerbread sandwiches

To get Robbie to eat something at some point last year, I offered to cut the bread with a cookie cutter and he could pick the shape. He opted for a gingerbread man and continued to ask for it throughout the year. It was humorous in June, but now, finally, it's appropriate! Sometimes Cub will eat the sides that are left, but it's usually me who takes care of them so they don't go to waste. I just have to plan ahead so I don't eat multiple sandwiches all by myself.

12 Days of Christmas: Santa's workshop

The boys start Winter Break on Friday. I've spent a good chunk of time yesterday and today shopping and assembling the holiday goodie bags for their classmates. I'm happy to say I'm done and I got it all finished while the boys were at school so they didn't see a thing. And they couldn't get their hands on anything. :) I bought a bunch of PlayDoh supplies, from the small tubs of multiple colors to a big pack with lots of shape cutters, and split all of it up into smaller, individually wrapped gifts, plus tossed in a few pieces of chocolate. Hurray! One more thing checked off the to-do list.

12 Days of Christmas: Our Charlie Brown tree

Back in December 1999, I was working my first technical writing job in the Bay Area. During Christmas, someone set up a type of pre-lit tree on a small table near the break room. I'd never seen something like it before; it was a fiber optic tree. The "bulbs" were fiber optic fingers and multiple colors flashed or "transitioned" as a unit in the base rotated. It was cheerful and cheesy and borderline tacky and I wanted one. Off to Target I went and bought one of my own. I brought it home and my parents laughed but allowed such a sight amongst Mom's standard classy holiday decor anyway.
I still have that same tree after two major moves, but it is beginning to show its age. It's probably 100 in artificial tree years, yet it still makes me smile. The lights no longer change colors but it otherwise works (the rotating base stopped rotating after we moved to Hawaii). It was stuck on purple a few years ago yet this year the color was mostly white upon the first lighting. Each day since that we've plugged it in a little more purple comes out. It looks a little less cheesy this way. Long live our little tree.

12 days of Christmas: Stocking stuffers

When I mentioned in yesterday's post I wouldn't be spending any money on gifts this year, it wasn't 100% accurate. I won't be spending a lot, but we will get the boys a few things. I've already picked out the items Santa will leave for them on Christmas morning. A few Hallmark ornaments (I couldn't let a holiday season go by without getting a fix for my addiction), one holiday Thomas character train engine each, and some candies. I am going to try to start a tradition that the boys get at least one ornament to hang on the tree Christmas day. Boys being boys, I'm not sure if they will be crazy about this plan, but I like it.
Speaking of Hallmark ornaments, when I saw this year's offerings some time back, I planned to buy one representing the Polar Express movie. It's a ticket, train engine, and gold bell all in one. I waited too long. According to the store associate this past Monday, they had been sold out of that one "for three or four months." Wow! That was quick. I haven't called around to see if other stores had it in stock. Following in the vein of keeping Christmas simple, I'm not going to get too worked up about it. The Lionel train ornaments that I bought instead are perfect.

12 Days of Christmas: I have a lot of work to do

School is officially over for me. Sort of. Today I had my last day of on-campus classes, and all that is left is an online final due next week. I'm feeling great with the semester behind me, but it's no time to rest. I started my annual holiday gifts after Thanksgiving but I didn't get very far.
Unlike recent years, this year there will be no beaded snowflakes and little to no beading at all on my ornaments. I wanted to challenge myself to do something with all the craft materials already in my craft closet, and that challenge included not buying any new beads. That's right, spending no money on gifts this year! Lucky for my recipients, I bought a lot of nice stuff in years past that I never used and I'll get by just fine. :) While we lived in Maryland I started quilting, and although I haven't done much since Robbie was born, I have a fantastic fabric stash that still calls out to me on a regular basis. Time to stop blogging and get sewing.

12 Days of Christmas: Gingerbread Iolani Palace

We were in Waikiki last night for dinner. Before we left the house, I told Robbie that we could go see the holiday gingerbread display and train at the Princess Kaiulani Hotel after we ate. As we made our way to the restaurant in the car, we passed the hotel. Robbie remembered the location from last year and pointed it out. That memory is going to get us in lots of trouble.
For the first time, pastry chefs have created the Iolani Palace (the only royal palace in the United States) in gingerbread, chocolate, and icing. According to the signs next to the display, the palace, "with its 88 columns, took over six weeks to build." It looked amazing. Hopefully it will be a fixture in future displays.

Happy Birthday to my mother-in-law!

This is the cake I baked for her last year. Is it sad that I remember I took a picture last year that I never posted, or simply sad that I remembered I took a picture at all?
It was a beauty! Chocolate cake and frosting from scratch, using a recipe I found on the Hershey's website. Sooo yummy! And my mother-in-law? Sooo worth it! The heart sprinkles were all I had at the time, leftovers from Valentine's Day cookies. I think I laughed out loud when I was making the frosting and thought to myself, "This is just chocolate-flavored butter." I liked it so much I made it all over again for Robbie's birthday in March. This year? We've expanded our tastes. He now requests red velvet cake.

12 Days of Christmas: It's that time again

It doesn't feel like it here in Hawaii, but it's December, and Christmas is a mere 25 days away. This picture is an archive from the Camera Roll - a close-up of holiday tree set up with local flair at the Outrigger Hotel in Waikiki. I heard over the weekend that the large, gingerbread winter wonderland scene has been set up for the season. The boys LOVED the train last year and were upset when we could no longer go. It's calling us now.

Apples? Really?

That was my reaction when this came home in the backpack the day before Thanksgiving. I don't know what was discussed earlier in the day to plant this seed, but our kindergartner claimed - and now has recorded for all time - he was thankful for apples. This is how the conversation went after I read this:
Me: Robbie, what does this say?
Robbie: It says, "I am thankful for apples."
M: Do you like apples?
R: Yes.
M: I have apples in the fridge right now. Would you like one?
R: No.
I had apples because in addition to pumpkin pie, I was going to make an apple crisp. It's one of Noel's favorite treats and it just sounded yummy. My version? Not so good as those restaurant versions he orders and I finish off. I tweaked a good part of the recipe on a whim and among other things, was a little heavy-handed with the spices. Too much cinnamon is NOT a good thing, especially when combined with too much nutmeg and ginger. Next time I'm Googling "apple crisp restaurant knock-off" and going with what pops up. No more audibles!

Farmer's Market find: Negi

Today I am cooking one of my favorite "what to do with leftovers" dishes: Onion, leek, and potato soup. I like it because if you have extra mashed potatoes (and unless you're lucky enough to unload them on guests on the way out the door, then you do!), it's really simple. Slice onions, leeks, and garlic very thin. Sauté in oil until caramelized, pour in stock, bring to a boil, and then add mashed potatoes and stir. Let boil and/or simmer as you wish and that's it.
I didn't buy leeks earlier in the week, but this morning I was lucky to find negi, a long (long!) Japanese green onion-like vegetable. The white parts you see in the picture were about 10-12 inches long and there were an additional 12-18+ inches of the green parts. Carrying them away from the vendor's table, I felt like I was carrying spears. The guy who sold them to me said not to use the green parts, so I didn't.
It wasn't a leek, but close enough, and local from the farmer's market, so I had to give it a try in the soup. It's still simmering on the stove, and so far it looks and tastes good. I didn't have low-sodium stock so it's bordering on too salty. Other than that, I have high hopes.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hope you are sharing the holiday with good food and loved ones today. Here's some kindergarten artwork that came home in the backpack this week. I think I've spotted a trend...preschoolers have full-sized paper plate art, kindergartners use pupu plates.
Enjoy the day!

Countdown to turkey...maybe not

Cranberry sauce chilling, pumpkin pie baked and ready for the big day...tonight I'll chop some veggies and then call it a day. Lots to do, but tonight I'm beat after a couple late nights/early mornings in a row. Here's the menu I've been working on for a week. (Cub wanted to help "highlight" items for me.) A few things have been cut from the starting line-up, including the turkey (gasp!). I couldn't find one small enough. Just three turkey eaters at the table tomorrow, so a big bird would just be a waste. Another year I don't cook a turkey...and another year I don't mind at all. :)

Carnival fun

Somehow despite all of us being sick for at some point during the last half of October and well into November, we pulled ourselves together and managed to get out and have a good time here and there. One Sunday after dinner we went to a weekend carnival in Kapolei. Last year we missed it, but Robbie spoke often about the Ferris wheel. When it started going up a few weeks ago (the bus drove by the lot every afternoon after school) this time he was going! The only time Robbie seemed a bit apprehensive was the first jolt to start the wheel turning. After that, the ride was smooth sailing and he loved it, not concerned at all with the movement or being so high up. Who knew? I was very happy that he did not seem at all interested in going on the mini-roller coaster. As we walked by, I heard a little girl say to her parent, "Look! The roller coaster is fixed now. Can I go?" Broken ride at a traveling weekend carnival? I'll pass!
That big, white glare ruining my picture is a ticket booth. They make a TON on these rides. It's about $3 each person, on average, for one ride, and no young kids free on anything. A sign at the front read that the rides were all "discounted" from 3 to 2 tickets (would have saved us about a dollar per ride) because it was the last night of the carnival, but word didn't get around to the ride operators, who were still charging full price. Boo!

View from the top

Here is the dusty ground below Robbie and I as we went around and around on the Ferris wheel. Noel got an out because he doesn't like heights. Cub may or may not have been too small (we couldn't really tell from the signs), so we opted to leave him on the ground and prevent the tantrum-drama of waiting in line only to be told he couldn't go just as Robbie and I were boarding. But the drama was unavoidable. In the picture, all looked calm as Noel and Cub waited and watched as we rotated by. Noel would say later, "Don't mind the straw all over Cub. When he realized he wasn't coming along, he threw himself on the ground and rolled in some nearby hay." By the time I snapped this, it was looking like nothing happened. Glad I didn't see him getting upset, it would have only made me sad. Next year!

Hey! That was my idea!

I'm not a food blogger, but if I were, maybe I would have posted this last year. Trying to think of a new twist to go with the classic pumpkin pie custard (no need to mess with the recipe on the Libby's can for me!), I thought about making a pumpkin pie for last year's Thanksgiving dinner with a ginger snap crust. I got the idea from Martha Stewart's Everyday Food magazine. She had another pie in last year's Thanksgiving issue with a crust using ginger snaps, some sort of nut, and melted butter, all processed until smooth and then baked to make a pie crust shell. Ah ha! I was going to try it. Yadda...yadda...yadda...(Yes, I'm yadda-ing out the part where I called the Martha Stewart satellite radio show with a question. It was funny.) I ended up making it with macadamia nuts and it was a hit. At least for me - I loved it. I thought it instantly upgraded the classic pumpkin pie to coffee or pastry shop good. I'm going to make this pie for many years to come.
So imagine how surprised I was to be watching Rachael Ray yesterday (she's been doing recipes all week and I'm menu planning) and her guest used MY pie crust for a pumpkin pie. Except her guest did a no-bake pie. It was still labor intensive. You have to stir a mixture over the stove top for 10 minutes straight. I don't get it. You can make a pie ahead of time, why cut corners? Just go for the classic custard if you're making one this year.
(I thought I had a picture of last year's pie in my camera roll, but I can't find it. Placeholder pumpkin above, made for Robbie with a free Paint-like iPhone app a few weeks ago.)

Farmer's Market find: Pomelo

I don't know why it works this way for me, but when I'm really sick I don't feel like eating right and I really don't feel like cooking at all. It drives me mad. If there's any time when I should be eating really well, it should be then, but it's not. I get by and get food on the table, but there's no fun in it. One day I told myself, "Enough!" I dug through the fridge and found a cantaloupe to cut into. I sliced and carved it...then got tired, lost my brief appetite for fruit, and put it all back in the fridge. A couple of days later I tried again, this time with a pomelo.
I got really excited when I saw a new-to-me vendor at the farmer's market selling these. I first tried one back when I was working here, before Cub came along. My boss had one and she said I had to try it. It was really large, fresh and ripe, and she shared a huge wedge with me. I loved it! Sweet, juicy, not too tart, seemed to me mostly like a sweeter grapefruit, crossed with a little bit orange. I've looked for them since, but no luck until a few weeks ago.
The ones I found were much smaller than the one I first tried. I didn't think much about it, but after I cut into it and realized it wasn't very good, maybe size matters! The fruit inside was dry and a little sour. Picked too early, perhaps? Strike 2 for me and fruit that week.
I hope they keep bringing them to the market, but at the same time, I hope they can keep them on the trees a little longer, too.

Let's re-do this month already

This is what the Halloween cupcakes looked like 24 hours later (left covered on the counter at room temperature). Sadly, it was a sign of what was to come! Crazy week-plus we've had. We have all been sick in some way or another, missed school and work, overall we are just dragging ourselves along. Noel and I tried to put the funk behind us and left the boys with the grandparents last Saturday for dinner and a movie. After the so-so film (I KNEW we'd already seen all the good parts in the trailers, but I wanted to see it anyway), we headed to dinner. At 9:00 PM, it was warmer outside than inside due to the air conditioning, so we opted for the lanai. We were served the worst soup I've ever tasted, they burned an entree then charged us twice for it on the bill after we asked the kitchen to re-do it, and service was really slow. While waiting, I saw a rat scurry across the lanai and go under a wall we think lead to the kitchen. We won't be going back there anytime soon!
Earlier in the week I had preschooler drop-off duty one morning. As the teacher tried to take Cub away, he tried to hold on to me with his feet. His shoe stuck to my shirt and pulled the front of my top down, nearly to my waist. So I flashed a group of preschoolers, their instructors, and a dad who was there having breakfast with his child. Highlight or low-light of the week? I'm still undecided.

Happy Halloween!

Pre-Halloween loot

Both boys came home from school Friday with enough Halloween treats and goodie bags from their classmates that they won't need to trick or treat much tomorrow. Robbie was first home and I snapped this picture while we were looking through it. His haul filled his small pumpkin. Next up was Jacob who - and I'm not kidding - had an entire reusable grocery bag full of stuff. For pre-schoolers?? I spent most of this week in a haze and regrettable didn't have the energy to put anything together for any of the classes. I've got some making up to do as the holidays approach.

Come on over for candy Sunday

No, seriously. Come on over and get some candy. We really, really need to get rid of it. We have two Costco-sized bags and we rarely have that many trick-or-treaters. I begged Noel not to open a bag one night knowing I would just eat it all. He obliged, only to see me rip into it the next evening. Not one of my proudest moments.
Everyone in the family was taken down with a whopping cold this week and we're just surfacing. Colds are miserable on many fronts, but what's especially bad for me is that I'm hungry all the time and all I want is junk food. And there's nothing that tastes better in this state than chocolate. With all the Halloween candy around, October is a horrible, horrible time to have a cold! Who needs post-holiday/New Year resolutions to eat better? I'm making mine for November 1. Or November 2. You get the idea.

Halloween countdown!

Ready or not, Halloween is nearly here. I had thought about making the boys' costumes again, but it just didn't happen. Robbie wanted to be a fireman, and Lord knows I can't pull that off with my sewing machine! At least not for the $10 bucks I spent for the costume, fire helmet included. We also found something cute for Cub at a local party store, so the issue was settled rather easily. We did get to the pumpkin patch earlier this month. A real pumpkin patch, too, on real farm land and not the corner of an asphalt parking lot. We walked through the fields to find and pick our pumpkins. (Who knew you could in Hawaii, huh?) It was a fun, quick, and surprisingly not-so-dusty morning at Aloun Farms, complete with a hay ride. Well, it was really just a small tractor pulling some passenger carts. But that's what they really are and it counts, right? Woo-woo!

Black Pearl at KoOlina Marina (Part 1)

The Pirates of the Caribbean film shoot may be over and the production teams have left the islands, but the Black Pearl remains. It can currently be found back on the Leeward side of Oahu, in a semi-secure marina adjacent to the area where it was first stored earlier this year. One of Robbie's classmate's parents tipped me off last week to its location - the KoOlina Marina. It's right there where everyone can see, facing mauka at the back of the harbor, among all the other boats. You can walk around the perimeter of the marina and get a somewhat up-close-and-personal look. While I was taking these shots this morning, I saw a tourist catamaran cruise enter the harbor, come up right alongside it, and then pull away and exit the harbor.
Not sure when it got there, or how long it will stay, but seeing that it is less than a mile from the construction site of the new Disney Aulani Resort Hotel scheduled for a soft opening in August 2011, one wonders if they will keep it around for an attraction?

Black Pearl at KoOlina Marina (Part 2)

Here are two close-ups on the front. Note the detail! I'm sure if you watch the final production when it comes out next year, you'll see a pan or two of these areas. Lots of skeletons. Very Disney-fied, huh? Especially when you consider how it looked when it first cruised into Oahu.

Black Pearl in KoOlina Marina (Part 3)

Here are two shots of the right side of the boat. Aargh! (Sorry, had to get one in!) Is that starboard or leeward? I've never understood those terms. Anyway, note the "damage" to the facade. I am willing to place a bet that there is a battle between ships in the movie. There's one every time, yes? So maybe this is the results of the skirmishes?

Cub turns 3!

Cub turned three earlier this month. We asked him he wanted to do for his birthday, and then we asked Robbie what he thought his brother would want to do. Putting the two together we ended up with a laid-back outing to ride the monorail at Pearlridge, then off to the pool for a swim, BBQ, and cupcakes with the family.
Robbie loves the red velvet cupcakes at a local sushi bar (I know, sounds weird to me, too) and I was going to attempt to make them for the birthday. I tried to cut a few corners and picked up ready-made "whipped" cream cheese frosting. An awful product! Read the packaging carefully - I didn't and made the mistake of bringing it home. From my untrained eye, "whipped" just means lighter and more airy in the container. On a cupcake, this translates to a flat, non-rich frosting that neither Noel or I liked. Yes, that's right! The birthday boy could have cared less and we ate the most. I don't think Cub even ate one.
The red velvet plan went out the window, too, as the birthday approached. I couldn't get the ingredients to replicate the sushi bar cupcake (specifically the chocolate candies on top) so I went with an easy and cheap sea theme. Aqua/blue tinted frosting and Swedish fish and other sea creatures on top of a vanilla cupcake. They didn't look that great, but at least Robbie and I had fun making them.

Fire truck says, "Woo woo!"

Yay! The first of the artwork from Cub's preschool has come home. Last week they took a field trip (walked to a downtown fire station) and after the trek made fire trucks using half gallon milk cartons, construction paper, and paint.
Wondering why the truck is not red? They're yellow on Oahu; no red fire trucks. I'm used to them from California (some cities and counties tried them out in the 80s and early 90s but the trend didn't stick there) but I've heard other military wives who say they've never seen - or heard of - them before and it has taken them some time to get used to.

PlayDoh revisited

Elementary school kids state-wide have been out of school all week. Something called "Fall Intersession," which neither Noel nor I can remember anything like it when we were kids. Only the elementary kids, too, so parents like us have to scramble for childcare coverage or are busy with activities. Or both.
We made PlayDoh yesterday afternoon. We've made it a half dozen times since the summer, and it's turned into a lesson in color creations. Robbie stands in the kitchen with all the food coloring options spread out before him on the counter and dictates to me what colors he wants to mix next. And that means he squirts the drops of food coloring into small balls of PlayDoh and I knead it. We got a lot of grey one day, which I turned into an elephant. We also usually wind up with a lot of browns and oranges, typical from a kid who wants a little bit of his favorite red in everything!
A few things that I've learned about making PlayDoh since the original post in late July. Don't follow the directions! I now have a more efficient system. First, pour the water directly into pot and start heating it (medium heat). Add the remaining liquid ingredients directly into the pot, including vanilla - but not food coloring, unless you want the entire batch the same color. (I still don't add a lot of vanilla. One teaspoon works well for us.) Pour the salt into the water and let it begin dissolving. Add remaining dry ingredients and then start stirring. With the water already heated, the mixture comes together within a minute and you're done! It takes longer for it to cool down than to make it.

What kind of lazy am I?

That's what I asked myself this weekend. I was at the farmers' market and knew I had to make a separate stop on the way home to get Robbie some orange juice. I didn't really want to; I just wanted to get my produce and go straight home. So how happy was I to see local oranges back in season and for sale? Whew! No extra stop needed! I'd make fresh squeezed juice and get by for the day. So, it's a good kind of lazy, right?
The local variety is another thing that reminds me of St. Lucia. Definitely not your deep orange, thick rind, softball-sized Mainland variety. They're smaller, have a light orange-yellow shade, a thin rind and pith, and are heavy with juice. Even the pith around the inner wedges is thin. I liked the juice we had on Sunday, but I actually think Noel and Robbie prefer the carton.

With Ua'Malie at Turtle Bay again

I'm back with the monk seal pup today. Lucky for me, we are not on the moon. She's beach side in an area we call the "Turtle Bay side of the point." Good for her because she is undisturbed; good for me because it is shady, I have soft ground to sit on, and it is less of a walk. So far this morning it's just the two of us and a lot of bugs. Ants on my exposed ankles and flies and other mini-creatures on my arms. But I'm not complaining.

Sunburst cantaloupe

Here’s one of my favorite finds this summer at the local farmers’ market: Hawaii-grown Sunburst cantaloupe. It’s a little bit larger than a softball, about two-thirds the size of the varieties grown in California and Mexico that I’m used to from home. It’s very sweet when ripe, and it stays fresh in the refrigerator for over a week (when not cut open). Two Sundays ago I asked the vendor how long the variety would be available and she replied the season is nearly over. Noooo! Just when I was being good and turning to fruit to satisfy my sweet tooth, the season for this healthy treat comes to a close. Oh well. We seem to have watermelon year-round, and there’s always pineapple.

Happy Birthday!

The conversation leading up to Sunday’s birthday went something like this:
Me: “What do you want to do on your birthday?”
Birthday Boy: “Have a good cry.”
Me: “OK, that will take about five minutes. What do you want to do the rest of the day?”
BB: “Dunno.”
Without much of a plan, we ended up with our fallback activity - a late swim and dinner grilled poolside. It was a great day at the pool with unusually warm pool temps. We were able to stay in the water pretty late and we all had the red eyes to prove it.
Pictured here is the birthday cake Robbie helped me decorate for our reluctant birthday boy, Noel, who is not as old as he feels! (I did a quick color tweak with Photoshop Express – although the color did look pretty good when served.) I had a white cake box mix, a can of frosting, and a lot of food coloring on hand, so I put this together in the couple of hours between my farmer’s market run and heading off to the pool. Super easy! I got the idea right off the Duncan Hine’s box, didn’t have to look at the website. It hadn’t occurred to me before that you could get a single cake round and enough cupcakes to make this stack from one box. Cub’s birthday is approaching. I’ll be checking this site now for additional cake and cupcake ideas. Yummy and fun!

Babysitting on the moon

One son enrolled in daycare and another back in school...what's a mom to do with her mornings? Well, four are already booked with classes and appointments, but one morning is free. Strange as it sounds, I couldn't wait to do more babysitting. For a monk seal. Earlier this summer a female monk seal pup was born just down the beach from the Turtle Bay Resort on the North Shore. I couldn't volunteer during the summer, but without any children in tow this month, I decided to try a shift every week. So here I am, near a rocky cove other volunteers have dubbed "the moon" due to the jagged landscape, watching a seal in a very, very deep sleep. She's found the perfect hideaway in an area carved out of sharp lava rock. Last week during my first shift, she was tucked away so well I couldn't find her. Today she is a little more prominent, in a shallow pool of water between rocky areas. She's a beauty!

Cookies, please

Someone who is trying to cut out sugar from her diet really shouldn't be baking cookies, but that's what I found myself doing this week. I've been thinking about making peanut butter cookies for about a month now, ever since I bought some organic peanut butter at Costco that I wasn't crazy about. Then one night last week Robbie brought home his daily reading, a book called "May I Please Have a Cookie." He loved it, talked about it every day, and asked for cookies. I knew that once I made them, I'd be the one eating them, and that's what happened. I even put M&Ms in a few especially for Robbie, but he's just not interested.
They're good though. I found the recipe online and pretty much made it as-is (although I highly recommend the M&Ms addition). Some comments said that the recipe didn't have enough flour. I think that all depends on what peanut butter you use. I didn't add extra flour, yet mine were almost too dense. Next time I'll reserve a 1/4 cup of of the total flour until I'm sure I need it mixed in. Otherwise, a winning recipe that I'll use again when the inspiration strikes.

School days, school craze

It’s been a whirlwind couple of weeks here. The boys and I had a fantastic long weekend in Seattle (pictures coming, really!) but then it was back to the books (and reality) for us. Kindergarten is going smoothly for Robbie; let’s just say Mom is making a lot of blunders. Bus passes! Lunch passes! School IDs! Standing at bus stop in afternoon when child is not on bus! Forgetting bus schedule and child walks home all by himself! Nightly homework! So much stuff to track. But we’ve settled into a routine (first order of business: 6:45 AM bus pick-up up the street) and I think – knock on wood – we’re going to be OK.
Community colleges also started in August, and I was right there alongside the fresh-faced, young whippersnappers. I’m taking three ICS courses this term, two on the main campus, and one remote via computer/cable TV. I’m also tutoring a Saturday morning class at a satellite center. In the middle of it all, we have successfully enrolled Cub in daycare, which meant more appointments, more forms, a TB test…Moms and Dads out there, you know the drill. And I had a job interview. I’m beat.
Here’s a picture I snapped a few months ago while picking up my summer school textbook at the main campus. The campus sits on the edge of Pearl Harbor known as “West Loch.” It’s one of three Naval battleship graveyards in the country. No kidding! They had a news story on TV about it not so long ago, but I don’t recall being able to stay awake for it. The teaser said some folks think the graveyard is haunted. Maybe because of the West Loch Disaster? My untrained eye says the dozen or so rusting, listing old ships are just an environmental mess.

My culinary throwdown: Breadfruit!

Late last month I was doing my Sunday morning Farmers’ Market run when I found breadfruit on the table of one of the regular vendors. I got really excited and stopped in my tracks. It was the first time that I can recall seeing breadfruit for sale, although I see a couple of trees here and there, and read an article in the Advertiser about 5 years ago now about cooking with it. I love breadfruit, except I don’t really know how to cook it. If I cooked it successfully while on my own in St. Lucia, I sure don’t remember how I did it. I stared at it for a minute, and then challenged myself to a culinary battle a la Iron Chef. Cook that breadfruit!
I didn’t have a clue what breadfruit was until my Peace Corps time. After all these years, I still can’t believe my luck. I was randomly picked to stay with one of the best families on the island for eight weeks and Tidou, my homestay mom, was one of the best cooks on the island. True! Her sons proudly told me this, and it was later backed up by friends who loved her cooking, too. But the real proof of course, was getting to sample her food. Let’s just say that to this day I still miss it! (One of my other favorite culinary experiences? The Rasta shack on the road by Castries Harbor. 100% vegetarian and infused with Jamaican and Caribbean flavor. My my, I’m swooning just thinking about it. Oh to have been blogging back then – I would have pictures to share.)
I stumbled upon a Hawaiian produce magazine online that had a breadfruit article. Here’s something interesting about breadfruit ('ulu) history in the West Indies: History buffs will recall that the HMS Bounty was transporting ‘ulu from Tahiti when Captain Bligh’s crew, upset with conditions on the ship and unhappy about playing second fiddle to the 1,015 plants that crowded the vessel, staged the famous mutiny. Less well-known is that Bligh was commissioned to collect ‘ulu a second time and successfully introduced almost 700 trees to the West Indies in 1793.
Back to my challenge. I brought the breadfruit back home and put it on the counter for a few days. When I got around to cutting it open, it was soft and mushy. Not at all like I remember it. This wasn’t starting off well. I looked at a few Internet recipes and decided I would peel, cut into large cubes, and boil for 15 minutes like potatoes. Wrong, wrong, wrong. Challenge result? Fail. My cooked breadfruit was gooey, starchy, and barely edible. Not at all like the “al dente” breadfruit that I remember in stews and as side dishes. Through Facebook, I’ve been able to reconnect with my homestay family. I think I need to ask Tidou for a few of her recipes. Or just go visit and never leave her side while she cooks.

Pizza night

Friday nights are usually pizza nights here. But oh no, no - NOT a cardboard delivery! This is what I made for myself last night: homemade dough, marinara sauce, fresh mozzarella, local Roma tomatoes, and basil. I baked it deep-dish style in an 8-inch round cake pan. For the boys, I make a standard size, thin crust cheese pie. Thankfully they like my pizza, unlike some of my other vegan/vegetarian fare I try to get them to eat. (We're making progress though! Robbie likes my vegan pesto on spaghetti.) I use a bread machine I received as a Christmas gift in 1994 for the dough. So they do make some things "like they used to" after all.

Poor Boo

This was our big-little girl Brady (Brady-girl, Brady-boo, or Noel's fave nickname for her: Chumba Rumba), one week ago tonight. She was not doing well. After an expensive day at the vet on Wednesday, we were told that she had a strained neck and to keep her on "crate rest." Well, crate rest wasn't going to work, but she usually managed to find a corner to herself and stay pretty immobile on her own. I was really sad to find her here on Friday night, in the bathroom closest to the sliding glass door. I think she was looking for refuge from the boys and the noise, and couldn't get very far. On Saturday morning she woke me up barking like a seal, within inches of my ears. You can't get mad at her...she was just in a lot of pain.
A follow-up call from the doctor on Sunday revealed to us that an another technician looked at her x-rays and thought she might have a slight herniated disk. (I think. I normally need these updates in writing...or to write them down...to get them right. I was running out the door and didn't grab a pen.) Ouch! Not good...and can potentially get worse, yes?
I'm happy to report she rebounded quickly after we got a couple of days of pain meds and prednisone in her and is now doing well. Along with her neck strain, her chronic eye and ear problems flared up, but with a lot of attention we can get those under control. She is high maintenance! Good thing she's so sweet and much loved.

It's official!

Robbie started kindergarten today! We went in late last week to meet his new teacher and drop off school supplies. I think it helped this morning's hand-off go very smoothly. He knew where to sit, plus without any other kids around, the teacher
was able to accommodate his request to have a red pencil caddy at his desk. They have short days all week, then next week will begin the full 7:45 to 2:00 PM days.
We tried to think of something fun to do this weekend to celebrate the milestone, or his last weekend of freedom, whichever way you want to look at it, but drew blanks and just spent a late Sunday afternoon at the pool.
Teachers request that all supplies brought in are labeled, even each individual crayon. Here's what else we did this weekend!
I'm not the first, nor will be the last to say this, but the transition from pre-school to K might be harder on the parents. His teacher sent home a few more notes in the backpack that weren't covered in orientation, including this: If your child does not know how to tie shoelaces, have him/her wear shoes with Velcro. Teachers do not have time to tie children's shoelaces throughout the day.
Harsh new world.

Waikiki Pano done not-quite right

I'm relaxing in Waikiki today, enjoying "Mangoes at the Moana." It's a mango-themed event, with everything from fruit sampling and cooking demonstrations to sessions about growing mango trees in your backyard (note: it's a lot about the pruning!). Stepped outside the Moana Surfrider Hotel during a break to snap this Pano picture. Makes Waikiki look kind of like a bay and you can't make out the very crowded surf break. Not so good. But can't fault the colors. The blues are accurate. Makes you want to dive right in.