A new friend

Awww, how cute is this? A baby gecko seen a few weeks ago around the backyard. Since first spotting this little one, I've seen a few others that might also qualify as "baby," but who knows how many are really out there.

"Chalk on turquoise with dinosaur stamps"

Happy May Day everyone! I think it's a coincidence, but Robbie's school had "Art Day" today, complete with the ArtMobile Hawaii making a scheduled stop. The work showcased here came home a few days ago. I'm particularly fond of it as it is done with chalk (and not paint) and a colored background. Too bad he also decided to practice his cutting and sliced it in half.

Actual "Art Day" work will be showcased another day. Another excited development here: The preschoolers are practicing for their annual Hukilau performance! It was fun last year, we'll be awaiting the school pageant coming up in two weeks.

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!)

The $80 parking fiasco

Friends from the other side of the island invited us to Ko Olina on Saturday for a few hours at the beach. I'm not a big fan of being at the beach in the middle of the day, nor do I like Ko Olina at that time because parking is bad (small public lots fill up early). But they don't come to the Leeward side often, so I gave it a go.

We ended up parking in a hotel garage where we have parked before. Validated our parking ticket after dinner and we had no problems. Not so lucky this time. I wanted to grab lunch (and get the all-important validation), but it for various reasons it didn't happen. I really was hoping Cub would drop off into a nap and I could sneak off, but Cub does not go down with so many distractions. So...our parking bill for four hours? 80 bucks. Ouch! The hotel is sneaky - they don't post rates anywhere. Poor little Cub got burned twice. We didn't get enough sunscreen on his face and his nose is still red. Otherwise we had a really fun day. Here's a shot of Dad and Cub before it all went south.

Get your motor running

Late last week I suggested to my Mom that we put Robbie's bike in the car and head down to a local park. It's one I like to go to for the playground, but I'm always wishing I could let Robbie ride his bike on the half-mile loop around the park. With Cub in tow, it's too hard for me. With an extra adult, I was willing to give it a try. Noel ended up coming home from work around the same time we were leaving, so he hopped in the car and we headed out.

Once on the "open" road Robbie went wild. Loved riding in and around and between sport courts, buildings, fields, etc. We gave him strict instructions to stay in the park loop and NOT head out to the adjacent streets, but he didn't mind us. We lost him as he headed out through the neighborhood. Noel ran after him, I got in the car and found them both a good half mile from the park. Anyone know if you can micro chip kids??

More backyard gecko watching

It's been a busy and fun week with family in town and more trips to the beach than we've had all year. Sadly, I've taken more pictures of the geckos along the fence than our visitors and/or our kids. I guess we were never in much of a photographic mood. So, here's an interesting one of our resident gecko. He is in the middle of changing his colors (grey to green); the tufts around his head look like loose skin but they were gone once he went completely green. Not sure what the technical terms for this is, I'll have to do more research. And he's also doing that thing with his neck, but this time it's a different color. I don't know why, but these tiny creatures are fascinating me. In the following weeks I will be rolling out a new blog feature: The Gecko Cam!

"Cardboard Barry" standing by

A new Obama Watch is starting on Oahu: In June, President Obama's high school class (Punahou, '79) is having their 30 year reunion. An invitation has been sent to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., but no RSVP yet. Organizers aren't getting their hopes up. So in his place, they'll party on with "Cardboard Barry," the life-size cardboard cutout of Obama that appeared at local campaign fundraisers.

Can't blame Obama for not being able to squeeze it in. Here's the schedule of events: "The reunion runs from June 10 through June 14, beginning with a large gathering at Punahou of all classes celebrating reunions ranging from five years to 50. Golf tournaments will be held around the island for the various classes on June 11. Then the Punahou Class of '79 will have its own cocktail party at the O'ahu Country Club on June 12. Another large gathering of the various classes will occur again at Punahou for a lu'au on June 13. And then the Class of '79 will gather alone on June 14 for a family picnic at a classmate's home in Lanikai."

This begs the question, how much is too much time at a reunion?

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Robbie came home sometime in February (in the middle of a month when it's usually a sea of pink and red) with this finger painting. I thought, "Well, this green blob will be saved for March!"

Backyard gecko watching

Noel's on the Big Island today, coming home later this afternoon. He was able to take in a photo/ flash workshop in Kona and file some legal documents with the court in Hilo. Sweeeet! While he was away, the boys and I had a lazy Sunday at the house. While Cub napped, Robbie rode his bike on the deck. We both spotted this gecko. I shot a few pictures before he scampered off. Then I noticed another gecko, but this one completely blending in with the bark on the bougainvillea bush. I tried to give Robbie a lesson in camouflage. We thought it was pretty exciting.

This morning I'm out on the deck again with the dogs and spot another creature! Out of the corner of my eye I see what I think is a dark grey gecko. OK, different from the two spotted yesterday, but not so pretty. Then the thing breathes! Oh good lord, the color. When he breathes (I think), a vibrant orange sack drops from his neck. The contrast against his skin nearly took my breath away. The first camera I could get my hands on was the video camera. I took a 3+ minute video of him and got him breathing a few times. I need to edit it before posting. You can hear me trying to disturb it and get it to breathe. (I know, not good behavior.) I also had time for a few still shots.

They saved the phone!

From the Advertiser: The phone on which Elmer Cravalho, as speaker of the territorial House took the play-by-play call on the U.S. House vote 50 years ago, has been kept as a part of history and has been on public display in the past.

Fifty years ago yesterday, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 323-89 to pass the Hawaii Admission Act, setting the stage for a historic affirmation by Hawai'i voters that would lead to Hawai’i becoming the nation’s 50th state. On August 21, 1959, President Eisenhower officially signed off on the dissolution of the Territory of Hawai'i that established the state of Hawaii. The phone seen in the picture is the phone used (on the Hawaiian end) when the local speaker of the territorial House took the call from Washington, DC during the vote. Don’t you love this relic? One man's junk is another man's...

World Kidney Day

This March, as National Kidney Month begins, the National Kidney Foundation urges Americans to get to know two humble, hardworking organs: the kidneys.

To help raise awareness and appreciation for all the vital functions the kidneys perform, the National Kidney Foundation is encouraging Americans to learn more and take steps now to preserve kidney health. March 12 is World Kidney Day, the perfect time to get to know your kidneys and find out if you're at risk. Click here for more information for a KEEP free health screening near you.

And if you're in the Bay Area reading this, or plan to pass through this Spring, please take note:

* Join the National Kidney Foundation on Thursday, April 23 at Yoshi’s Jazz Club in San Francisco to celebrate the achievements of the 2009 Champions of Hope honorees. A Notable Evening starts at 5:30 p.m. with cocktails and contemporary Japanese cuisine at Yoshi’s acclaimed restaurant, followed by the Champions of Hope Award presentations and a live performance at the renowned jazz club.

* The Kidney Walk has come to San Francisco! Register now at kidneywalk.org. Then walk along the Embarcadero on May 9th with your friends and family. Take in views of the San Francisco Bay while helping NKF support children and adults with kidney disease. Visit www.kidneynca.org/walk for information on the San Francisco event or to find a Kidney Walk in your area.

Matsumoto Shave Ice

A long-time friend and former Bay Area roommate was in town with his wife and baby daughter last month, and they wanted to check out the North Shore. Together we headed out on a Sunday for a late lunch (not by design, both families were running a little behind) and then to the famous Matsumoto Shave Ice before driving to Sunset Beach for playtime in the sand.
It was my first trip to Matsumoto! I'd been meaning to check it out and try it for a long time, but never made it. It's a little store, in the old-fashioned general store sense, that sits on a small lot very close to a busy highway. And the line is always out the door with folks waiting to get shave ice. Our kids were pretty restless during the wait and I didn't get the sense that I'd be able to enjoy anything that I ordered for myself, so I decided I would just try some of whatever Noel ordered so we could trade off watching the boys. Except he ordered vanilla ice cream. My friend's wife did get the shave ice, some red variety which she shared with me. She also shared a secret with me that she learned while living in Thailand - add the extra condensed milk on top! Yummy. Hands-down better than any copycat I've tried in Waikiki. Next time shave ice will be mine!
A little tip if you're ever there - be prepared. I felt like I was living the Hawaiian equivalent of the Seinfeld Soup Nazi. The staff is a well-oiled machine. Despite the hoards of tourists who come in, they give you blank stares when you fumble about and ask questions. They're nice and all, but let off an aura that they can't believe you botched an order for a simple cone of ice.

Hawai'i advances

True story - Noel and I finalized the house purchase when he was deployed in the Fall of 2004. My sister came out to Oahu to help me when the movers arrived with our stuff from Maryland. We were driving around picking up the usual move-in items: door mats, toilet paper, Windex, shower curtains, etc. (OK, maybe that is a "usual" list when you move from Maryland to Hawaii!). She asked if the island had any Target stores. I said I didn't think so as I hadn't seen any. So she calls 411 and when she asks, the young, female voice on the other end apologetically says, "No, we're not that advanced."

Well, this week, Hawai'i is that advanced. Not one but two (!) Target stores opened, the first in the state. One more on the Big Island (Kona) expected by the end of the year. There was a "soft opening" on Tuesday, with grand openings for both scheduled for Sunday. Even the soft opening was crazy. One of the store managers was quoted in the paper that they didn't expect such crowds as they didn't do an all-out media blitz. Huh? The next time you try to keep something under wraps, don't tell the local media outlets! The paper ran a story and a number of TV stations reported it on the evening news.

One trend I guess we should have expected: Every single print ad that I've seen features a can of SPAM stacked prominently among the products. We get it; you're here, you're local. I wonder how long they will keep it up.

Birthday art

I was inaugurated into the bake-and-bring cupcakes for your child’s birthday club today. Yes, our oldest is now four and off he went to school with chocolate cupcakes. Chocolate per his request. They are teaching him a lot at school, including “new” foods: chocolate cake and chocolate ice cream. We have a few extra for after dinner tonight, and will celebrate with Grandma and Grandpa again sometime over the weekend.
He came home with this artwork in his backpack. Some sort of sponge painting with fruit shapes. I can make out apples, bananas, pears, and a smudged pineapple. I think I cut most of the pears off with the scan…a lot more are on the other half.

Another blog!

I think I've mentioned a few times that I belong to the local bead society on Oahu. In the Fall of 2006 I became the newsletter editor and have produced, printed, and distributed the monthly newsletter ever since. I got a lot of the group to convert to emailed PDF deliveries about this time last year. There are still some holdouts, however, we are much better on the environment than before. Next I wanted to tackle a web presence! I started a blog today which will hopefully become a useful tool to communicate with members while also advertising our group to beaders here and on the Mainland. But for now we'll take it slow. Here's my first post. Boring! You are forewarned.

Too cool for...

The three of us made a late-afternoon run to the grocery store a few days ago. It was the part of the day where the sun glare is pretty bad, so Robbie asked for his sunglasses. Huh? We tried many times years ago to get him to wear a few variations of those kiddie glasses, but no luck. He'd rip them off and refuse to keep them on. We just let it go. One day a few months ago he was playing in the backyard and asked for a pair out of the blue. All I could find was an old set from Noel, which were surpisingly not that big on him. So he wore them for a few minutes until he had more fun hanging them on the fence post. Back in the car, I found that pair in the glove compartment and he wore them all the way down the hill until we arrived in the parking lot. Just goes to show you that some things will just come in their own time.

We're live!

Actually, I shouldn't use the "we." Noel's updated website is up after months and months of working on it. The revamp started early last summer when he signed up with a group of web folks who say they specialize in websites for lawyers. We went through round after round of edits (oops, there I go with the "we" again) and I took my red pen to many pages of copy at different stages. When Noel submitted my re-writes, each time they came back to say that all the work I did undid their search engine optimization efforts (whatever) and refused to work with the better text (ours). So it is what it is. But hey, here's to criminals not caring!

Mermaids Hawai'i

I have two beading classes under my belt and have been scheduled next month for another! The classes are small but a lot of fun. While making conversation during a class, I found out one of my students was a member of a local group I had never heard of - Mermaids Hawai'i. They perform synchronized swimming routines in pools around the island for various occasions. Last Saturday I went to a show.

In my usual style, I was running late with the boys and cut it really, really close. I was still parking as the show was starting. Luckily, I could see the early acts from the parking garage so I knew I wasn't too far (above). Noel's parents met me at the Waikiki hotel and looked after the boys while I snapped a few pictures from the deck. Pools will always make me nervous...glad I had the extra set of eyes. After the Mermaids were done, Noel's parents treated the three of us to a Valentine's dinner at the hotel and we ended the evening playing pinball in the hotel game room (Noel was in Tahoe boarding with the guys). Just a note of caution to the parents out there - the Sopranos pinball machine is kind of disturbing. This wasn't much of a surprise, I was just glad my near-4 year old didn't understand anything he heard!

Almost-Friday Funnies

My brother-in-law just sent me this picture. Not quite sure where they were or who is holding up my niece behind that space suit, but I had to share it!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Shovel ready

There's a vacant lot across the street from our home. One usually worries that it will be developed at some point. Well, looks like we don't have to worry for a while. The rumor that the land was too unstable to build a home on looks to be true. Work started recently on a landscaped garden, complete with benches and lots of flowers. This being Hawai'i, this first dirt drop sat there for a week. But I'm happy to report that they've kicked it into gear since and have made great progress. Soon we'll have a nice spot to view the sunset, the cows, and Lincoln, the neighborhood rooster.

Still stuck

This from the Honolulu Advertiser:

"One of the biggest and technologically advanced warships based at Pearl Harbor ran aground in 17 to 22 feet of water half a mile off Honolulu International Airport's reef runway on Thursday."

Numerous attempts to get the ship off the sandy and rocky bottom have been unsuccessful. I was driving into town late Saturday afternoon and looking for it from the elevated stretch of highway near the airport and there it was. So how does something like this happen despite all the advances in navigation in the last 50+ years??

Toilet humor

In the last couple of weeks two of the three toilets in the house had been backing up regularly. I couldn’t figure it out and was often found talking to myself, mumbling, “They just don’t build things like they used to! If this goes on, I’m going to have to call a plumber…” Well, good thing I didn’t make that phone call. I was finishing up the dishes in the kitchen yesterday when Robbie went into the bathroom. He was taking a long time, so I peeked in to see if he needed help with anything. To my surprise, he stood there, pants still down, holding a wad of toilet paper about the size of a volleyball. Oh my!
I asked him, “Do you use that much toilet paper every time you go to the bathroom?” “Yes!” he said with his trademark sheepish grin. Mystery solved.

Pro Bowl Week 2009

About the same time each year, Noel asks me if I want to go to the NFL Pro Bowl. Last month when he brought it up, I thought about it and said not really. This year we'd have to buy a ticket for Robbie, decide whether or not to leave Cub with Grandma and Grandpa, and simply just get there on game day (traffic is a hassle). He quickly said, "Good! Because I didn't want to go anyway. I'd rather watch it at home." But that plan may backfire on us. As of Thursday, the game was not sold out, and the league is threatening to blackout the game on local TV sets. Another thing to blame the economy on! Waikiki hotels are operating at only 60% occupancy. It's a matter of a few thousand tickets still being available, so I'm guessing that's the main problem.

We did go back in 2006. We paid nearly $200 for lousy tickets (better view of Pearl Harbor than of the players) and some guy in Noel's office spilled beer on me. Despite all that, it was fun, but each year the fun factor is outweighed by the logistics factor. Blame that one on becoming parents.

The entertainment does sound amusing. David Archuleta, the American Idol finalist, will perform the National Anthem. Oooh, will there be a lip sync scandal? They are also advertising - and this is a direct quote from the paper - there will be "a special effect during Archuleta's performance that has never been done before at Aloha Stadium." And then there's Enrique Iglesias and Ciara (who?) performing at halftime with 600 dancers on the field. Too bad I'm not a tween. Reminds me of '06 when the Backstreet Boys performed at halftime. I won't say they were phoning it in, but I think they knew the packed stadium wasn't made up of their fanbase.

Knowing that the NFL players practice at Kapolei High during the week, I drove past the football field a few times looking for them. I found them once, yesterday morning. Sadly, the people in charge lock you completely out of the small stadium and parking lot, and you're left to fend for yourself on the side roads (rabid fans have some nerve displacing Krispy Kreme vendors!). I had Cub in the car and other errands to run, so I just drove on past. If we're ambitious, I may try to drag some or all of the family to a special pre-event practice at the stadium Saturday morning. Players on the field, mascots, food, games. And free.

Lessons from the aquarium

Shortly after coming home from Maui I was in the Kapolei library and a headline shouted out to me from the periodicals. It was a photography mag with the subject, "Take better pictures at the Aquarium" or something like that. Oops. A little too late. Mistakes were already made and we won't be heading back to Maui anytime soon to correct them. I didn't have a chance to stop and pick up the magazine, so here's my guess at what they said: 1. Use a tripod. 2. Don't use flash. 3. Use manual focus. 4. Pay attention to the signs. I think the guy above did read the magazine; note the textbook use of tripod in the shark tunnel!

I have too many other distractions these days and can't always set up a tripod, so I'm not kicking myself over that one. But I did feel really bad about upsetting an octopus. Above his tank there is a prominent sign that reads, "Do not use flash." Well, I wasn't, so I didn't really think much else about it. But I was using auto focus, which sends out a beam of light on your subject in low light. So I'm happily snapping away at a resting octopus when he starts moving around. Ooh, this is going to be a good one, I think. Well, in a word, no. The auto focus light agitated him and he literally came over to the side of the glass where I stood and stared me down! I realized what was going on, but it still gave me the creeps and made my heart stop at the same time. For a split second I even reflexively looked up to make sure there was no way he could jump out of his tank. I stopped shooting and backed quickly away. I feel a bit guilty still, but here's the picture.

Maui Ocean Center

Here’s what should be the second-to-last post on our Maui trip last month. I’d read about the Maui Ocean Center’s shark tunnel in a recent magazine article and wanted to take a look. We headed out there one day and spent the afternoon wandering the grounds, checking out the indoor and outdoor exhibits, and overall having fun. At one point in the shark tunnel we lost Cub. He was having too much fun running through it that he ran straight out! Noel found him wandering outside, just past the door. We also participated in the daily turtle feeding. I was mildly surprised to learn that they feed them raw broccoli by just tossing it into the water. They let visitors do the tossing, too, which kind of unnerved me, but luckily that day we all had good aim and didn’t hit one.

Brrrr!

In a news item that will amuse no one with snow, ice, or cold temps awaiting them this morning (or really anyone who has to leave the house wearing a coat), it was too cold in Hawaii on Tuesday for preschoolers to go outside for recess. The high in Honolulu that day was 71 degrees. An evening newscaster said about the weather Monday evening, it was “…kinda like a socks night.” And yes, that’s a direct quote from the 5 PM news.
You’ll see in Robbie’s report card that when marking his daily activities, he went on auto-pilot and started to circle recess, but the teacher stopped him, had him cross it out, and she penciled in, “Too cold!” My guess is that the kids were simply not dressed for high-60s, low 70s temps and didn’t have jackets. But the kids did give it their best. They ran outside and quickly ran back inside complaining of “the chill” and the teachers turned to rarely-used Plan B – Inside Recess!

When he didn't have recess to choose from as his favorite activity, our little guy opted to select his nap.

Lucky quarters

Robbie came home from school yesterday with a Chinese New Year gift from his teacher - two uncirculated Hawai'i state quarters in a red envelope. Lucky money! I hadn't really thought about collecting the state quarter series, but I will be saving these. At least trying to. Coins are seen as toys around here; they get stacked, stashed, and scattered around as much as the blocks, cars, and train sets.

Bring on the Year of the Ox

After reading about it for years and never getting there for various reasons, I finally was able to check out Honolulu’s Chinatown during a Chinese New Year celebration. Events started Friday night, so I picked up Noel from his nearby office after work and we headed out. Our goals were to get some pastries and sweets from a new Chinatown bakery that has people lining up down the street for goodies and then to get dinner. We – barely – accomplished one of those goals.

Instead of an organized parade, Friday night just had everyone who has a lion/dragon costume running randomly through the streets collecting dollar bills “for good luck.” A little chaotic. Then equally randomly, folks lighting long strings of firecrackers hung from storefront facades. Robbie didn’t do so well with those and we couldn’t get him to cross a few streets to get to the bakery. So we headed in a different direction and found a non-Chinese restaurant that seemed semi-quiet and away from the fray. However, upon sitting down, we were informed (nicely) that a lion dancer was due to come through the restaurant and to “have his [Robbie’s] dollar bill ready if he was interested.” Then we noticed that outside of the back window the restaurant had its own string of firecrackers ready for lighting. We ordered anyway.

Cub was unusually fussy and not much worked to calm him down. At one point I rather comically tried to chase him down with a martini in my hand. (Didn’t spill a drop!) Milk calmed Cub down for a while. Until he threw it all up. I headed off to the ladies’ room to change him and when I returned, Noel headed off to the men’s room to clean up the stroller. The wait staff met him at the door and kindly showed him to the service kitchen, where they helped him hose it off and even Febreze’d it for him! Back at the table, we ate a few more bites and then asked that it all be packed up. Dinner was aborted and we headed home. The food was good though, and the wait staff fantastic. I’d like to head back someday without toddlers.

It could have been worse! While dining, we saw a fire truck and an ambulance pass by in the direction of firecrackers that had recently gone off. At least we ended the night without permanent scars.

Surfing Goat Dairy Farm

There is a lot of buzz around here about a little goat farm in Maui that supplies goat cheese to most of the major high-end hotels on the islands. I've been lucky enough to sample the cheese a few times in restaurants around town and it's fantastic. So when we were in Maui I dragged Noel and the boys up to lower Kula one afternoon to see the Surfing Goat Dairy Farm located on the slopes of Haleakala. (The view from the picture here is looking out toward West Maui.) We didn't take either of the tours offered, but wandered around where we were permitted, snapped some pictures of the 3-week old babies (above), and took home some goat feta cheese. We mixed it into a green salad that night and it was divine! Seriously some of the best feta you'll ever have.
I was hoping from there we would drive up to Haleakala and view the sunset, but on the slopes of Haleakala does not mean on the way to Haleakala. The dairy farm is not located on the main road that leads to Haleakala, and we didn't really have time to drive around and up to the summit that day so we didn't go. Haleakala is one of my favorite places in all of Hawaii - I keep saying this, but some day we will get back!

History

"For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.

Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends — hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism — these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility — a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task."

Full text of inauguration speech here.

Wind, wind, go away

While most of the Mainland is fighting cold weather, we're fighting wind. A big wind storm was predicted late last night / early morning, so all schools in the state except the Big Island cancelled public schools. My mother-in-law, faithful watcher of the 5, 6, and 10 PM news, called to tell me at 5:30 last night. There's a good chance I otherwise would not have known. So far it's been a non-issue on Oahu. I'm wondering what the fuss is all about, but maybe some other islands are really getting hit.

So on with our vacation posts. Knowing Robbie loves to take pictures, my Mom gave him a Fisher Price camera for Christmas. In theory it's great - they claim it's kid tough (it looks it) and water resistant. But read the fine print and it's only 1.3 megapixels. We also discovered indoor shots are pretty bad and that it works best outside in bright sunlight. Robbie might be a little advanced for it already, but give Cub a few more months and he'll have fun with it. Here is cousin Johnny and Robbie building sandcastles at a Kihei beach.

Kihei sunset

Our last evening in Maui found us sans Noel and Cub. I took Robbie to a fantastic playground at the beach side Palama Park in Kihei before sundown, a short walk from our rental. The goal was to burn off some energy before dinner. It kind of worked. I also wanted to view the sunset and had to beg him to leave the equipment for a few minutes to take a look. I snapped a few pictures before he got restless and we turned our back to this view and returned to the swings. The sacrifices you make as a Mom.

No Superferry woes for us

We sailed to Maui on the Superferry for the second time. Our first crossing together was in November. We had planned to sail back together this time but Noel found out shortly before our vacation started that he would have to fly back a day earlier to meet clients. He kept offering to take one of the boys back with him so I wouldn’t have to manage both on the boat. I dragged my feet and didn’t make a decision about it until we heard about a bad crossing a few days after we sailed to Kahului. Seas in the channels were pretty rough – at least 17 cars were damaged in the vehicle deck and my mother-in-law in Waikiki reported they said on TV that “everyone” on board got sick. When I heard that, I gave in. Noel took off with Cub and Robbie and I remained to go it alone.
We sat next to a family who said they were on that fateful voyage and they admitted it was pretty bad. They were understandably apprehensive to return but had no choice. When I asked if everyone got sick, the other mom said, “Well, not everyone. I’d say about 95%.” I thought about it…imagine being in a room of 100 people and 95 of them puking. There were probably at least 200-300 people on the boat that day…ugh. They have a team of people cleaning up but a few people just can’t clean that fast!
We got lucky and had no problems. In fact, Robbie fell asleep while we could still see Maui. I fell asleep shortly after that and we pretty much slept the entire 3+ hours. I’d like to say we saw this lighthouse on the Molokai coast, but we didn’t. It’s a shot from last November. I think it is the isolated Kalaupapa area (think leper colony) but I couldn’t quite hear what the captain was saying as we cruised by.

Here today, gone to Maui

We went to Maui again. But this time my Mom, her boyfriend, my sister, her husband, and my niece and nephew joined us. We rented a house in Kihei with a big lanai and pool, plus just three houses from the beach and some yummy restaurants. Time went too fast and Thursday found us on the Superferry heading home. I think I'll post the pics in reverse, starting with this one above of Robbie peeking out at activity at the Kahului docks before we sailed for Honolulu. Boats, cranes, boxes, and trucks...what more can a boy ask for?

Where in the world did we go?

A belated Happy New Year to all. On Thursday we returned from a week-long family vacation to... I'm going to keep you guessing for another day. Here's a clue: On Tuesday we went to a goat dairy farm. Yes, it was my idea and I did drag the crew to a goat dairy farm. More on that later. For now, enjoy the view. I suppose if you're a goat this is as good as it gets?