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.