Pidgin Was My First Language

Sugar Free Napua

2010-01-01T15:29:00.003-05:00

I can tell you right now that a Sugar Free Napua will not be easy to swallow for anyone in the vicinity. I'm just hoping that the need for sugar will drive me straight to the greens and protein to keep me occupied.

January, 1, 2010

Breakfast: 1 cup whole grain oatmeal, cinnamon, pear slices, whole wheat toast w/ spicy hummus.

Lunch: Korean saimin w/ 2 slices whole wheat bread and spicy hummus.

Dinner: Mixed greens w/ arugula salad and artichoke hearts, hearts of palm, goat cheese, avocado, salt/pepper, and 2 tsp of lite champagne dressing. And crab legs. Was good.

Spring Is In The Air

2009-03-08T19:37:00.003-04:00

It's been a while since I've blogged. I'm not even sure why. This weekend was the first WARM weekend since I can remember. I feel inspired, I guess. :) Yesterday was our first day back at hula from winter hiatus....it was good, and tiring! My thighs are still burning.

Today, we went grocery shopping, and then I spent a few hours with Ka'ala outside. And I believe I created a monster. I can hear him downstairs now crying to be outside. LOL It's that Hawaiian blood, I'm sure.

Here are some pictures.....

And he's off....

and off come the shoes....

And look at the flowers blooming in our front & back yards!!

KOOZA, Babooze!

2008-11-30T20:49:00.004-05:00

So, my lil girl, my first bourne, my BOOBOO (shhh, she doesn't like me to call her that in front of company) will be 11 on December 17th, and as an early birthday present, I took her to see Cirque du Soleil's KOOZA at the National Harbor. Check it out at www.nationalharbor.com

Before moving to Woodbridge, we lived in South Alexandria, and were constantly driving along the Potomac so we got to see the construction of National Harbor. For the longest time we had no idea what all of those buildings were going to be, but it turned out to be pretty neat. They have a bunch of hotels, restaurants, retailers, and activities along the Waterfront there. Unfortunately for us, it was an UGLY, rainy day so we didn't get to explore much, however, I definitely want to make plans to go back with the entire family.

So, the show started at 1pm, and I figured since we'd have a long haul and possibly Thanksgiving traffic, we should leave the house at 10am, and thankfully, we did. When we got onto the Beltway towards the Woodrow Wilson Bridge we ran into a ton of traffic. I started to notice a ton of cars with the Redskins flags (ROLLING EYES) so I figured the Skins were probably playing at Fed Ex Field today and most of the cars were headed to the game in Landover, MD. GREAT! [sarcasm]

We finally made it to the Harbor at about 11:45 and saw the big tent on the Plateau area...better known as the Grande Chapiteau. *chuckle* Hearing me trying to speak with a French accent is just hilarious. Anyway, since we were a lil early, we decided to take the shuttle down to the Waterfront to get some grub. We ended up eating at Rosa Mexicano - the food was OK. The guac was good (not as good as mine), but the chicken enchiladas were just ok - the creamy sauce, I liked, but the enchiladas themselves, eh....

Alright, what you all are eagerly awaiting....PICS....

our tickets

Lovely DC traffic

almost there!

Le Grande Chapiteau

look da pretty tree at da Harbor!!

you should see the pic we took at Toys R Us in NYC circa 2004, this is a HUGE improvement

the soon to be birthday girl

This was my first Cirque du Soleil show, and it was friggin AMAZING!!!! Yall should check it out.

The Talented Mr. Wiley

2008-11-09T15:45:00.005-05:00

My husband got major drawing/art skills. I encouraged him in the past to let me create a website where he could sell t-shirts of famous people he airbrushed or whatever different kind stuffs, but he said, "I feel like you're pressuring me" WTF!? No make sense, yeah? He get one gift, and dammit, I like stop working so get to creating sumting, I say!!! LOL

So, my dotta, Kealaula, finally went decide what pitcha she wanted on the wall in her room. One hula girl. I jes went buy some pics when we was at home in August so she went pick one of da hula girls for her daddy to draw. Came out good......check um out.

HE U'I NO!!!!

Steelers Nation Takes Over the Nation's Capital

2008-11-04T20:12:00.012-05:00

It was a beautiful night last night. Sports pundits project that approximately 20K to 30K Steelers fans were in attendance at FedEx Field for the first regular season game between the two teams in 20 years. Standing in the Lower Level Section 118, Row 14, Seat 18, it was an AMAZING sight to see so many Terrible Towels waving in the stands and so many black & gold jerseys!! Steelers fans certainly travel well, but it's clear (as was published in many articles today) that the Redskins were VERY unprepared for the domination - not just on the field, but also in the stands by STEELERS NATION.

See article: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/dcsportsblog/2008/11/redskins_on_the_fan_turnout_di.html#more

Last year, Deijon and I went to the Steelers v. Skins preseason game (which we won), but were way up in the nose bleed seats. Last night, Corey and I was in the lower level right on the 10 yard line. We got there early. So early that the gates weren't even open for folks to get to their seats yet. We stood around deciding if we wanted some Famous Dave's BBQ or not and noted the amount of Steelers fans there already.

They finally opened them at approximately 6:30, and when we got to our section there was already some Steelers players on the field warming up.

Of course, I had to get a few pics with the players in the background.

This was MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL so it was pretty damn exciting to be in the stadium! Lots of bells & whistles and Redskins PROPAGANDA!! But that was quickly drowned out by resounding chants of HERE WE GO STEELERS, HERE WE GO and Terrible Towels waving.

It was exciting to see Coach Tomlin & a few of my favorite players.

Polamalu - do you see all that hair!?

Big Ben!

Coach Tomlin

And now, on to the game....

Coin Toss, Redskins Receive

Opening Kickoff

There goes that NUMBER ONE "D"!!

On the 1, for our first TD of the night

TD!!!!!!

Shut em out of the endzone all night!!

2nd TD!

3rd is up next!

Ahhhhh TOUCHDOWN!!!!

GAME OVER!!!!

Housewarming Pa'ina!

2008-10-13T20:48:00.008-04:00

A great time was had by all. My sister Maile got into DC on Friday (10/3), and she helped me cook all day Sunday. By the time the pa'ina was pau that night, we couldn't even move or walk! Ouah feets was SOAH! LOL Folks gathered in the garage to 'ai ka mea'ai, others watched football in the basement, and on and on....

Many of my friends, hula sisters and co-workers showed up. I was happy many of them cared enough to come! So, onto what we're all here for....the pics!!

The feast! (mac salad, teriyaki short ribs, shoyu chicken, shoyu onion poke, tako poke, taegu, kim chee, daikon, pickle onion, chicken long rice, kalua pig, raw crab, poi, rice, toss greens, fried noodles, etc)

Ka'ala & Aunty Ray eating Fried Noodles

Pigging out in da Garage!

Mino'aka!

Ray, Ka'ala, Me, Steph, Maile, April

The Colonel, Randy & Kumu Kanikapila

Randy & Kumu Kanikapila!

Love this pic!

Hi'ilawe

Kipukai - watch out foah da ladder!

Busy, Busy Weekend

2008-09-29T00:02:00.002-04:00

Ah, I believe it is technically MONDAY - the weekend is PAU! It's 12:03am, and as I am winding down from our extremely busy weekend, I am watching Chevy Chase be interviewed by Howard Stern on Howard's channel on On Demand. I'm a huge Howard fan, I listen every day. I love it.

Anyway, Saturday was Founder's Day for those of us Kamehameha Alumni on the East Coast. It was held in Accoceek, MD and some folks came from DE and NC! Wow! Aunty Gerry Johansen who organizes alumni functions around the country was in attendance, as well as the two headmasters for the Big Island campus and the Maui campus. They did a presentation on each of their schools; it was real neat to hear about the students and how the campuses are situated in their respective areas.

The ceremony was held at Christ Episcopal Church, and it was a full blown ceremony. We sang many of the songs I remember from Founder's Day in high school and intermediate. There were a few times I teared up - it was pretty emotional for me. I wish I had pictures, but I forgot to take the camera.

After the Founder's Day, our halau performed at Pacific Fun Day in Upper Marlsboro, MD. It was raining and HOT and HUMID and just UGH, miserable. The floor was soooooo slippery, I was worried I was going EAT IT.

Then today, we had so much running around to do. Get some stuffs for da house warming pa'ina, which is in 7 days, finish school clothes shopping for the kids, and cleaning up da hale!

I stay tiyed from da weekend!!! Geez.

I'm Still Here

2008-09-21T21:54:00.002-04:00

Aloha! We've been settling in nicely in our home. It's been slow lately with me being super busy at work, but it's coming along. Right now it's mostly Deijon's bedroom that's lagging and putting up the pictures. I'm waiting for about 7-8 pictures to come back from the framers so I can get them up on the walls.

I had bid on the Battle of Nu'uanu Pali by Herb Kane on Ebay, and the seller countered my offer, and I took too long to accept and missed the deadline, and I'm kicking myself for it! When I entered another bid, it expired too. 'Auwe! It would've looked PERFECT in our formal living room.

Anyway, I've been crazy with deadlines over the last few weeks at work, and I have 3 budgets due for review on Tuesday. Ack!! My sister comes in on Oct 3rd so that's something great to look forward to. Our housewarming pa'ina is on the 5th so she'll help me cook.

What's really exciting is my new logo that I had created for the beginnings of my new venture. I can't wait to get the final version, which is hopefully tomorrow. I will post a pic once I get it.

I'm off to finish up budgets.....

A Place to Eat

2008-09-10T01:27:00.003-04:00

It's probably one of the most important areas of any home: the dining room table. For most cultures, the sharing of life, love, and good food is essential to a close knit family - and it is no different in our house. I try to raise my children with the same values I was given growing up.

So, here are 2 pics I took of the dining room on Sunday evening. Each room is coming along slowly, but we're moving in the right direction.

Still A Work In Progress

2008-09-04T21:11:00.002-04:00

I hate disorganization. I'm not a neat freak by any means, but over the years I have come to realize that I do have some of my Mom's neatness traits in me. I don't go absolutely nuts if the house is in disarray because (as you know) I do have kids, and what else can you expect with them? LOL But all of the disorganization and having crap everywhere has to END NOW! *smile*

Actually, I think we've made pretty decent progress since Friday. I think within another week we'll be good to go with a few loose ends to tie up.

-Garage is *almost* free of unopened boxes and clutter

-98% of kitchen items are where they should be, but counters could use some de-cluttering action

-No cable

-No internet

-No phone service

-Trash service starts tomorrow!

-New fridge (side by side) was delivered yesterday!

-Deijon's mattress should arrive any day now

-Have clothes I need to fold in the dryer

-Office area needs bad organization

and on and on and on..........................................

I am hopeful that we will make great progress over the weekend!

*fingers crossed*

There Goes The Neighborhood....

2008-08-30T01:13:00.002-04:00

....because the Kamakele-Wileys have MOVED in! Tonight (and this morning as I write this at 1:14am EST) is our ho'okahi (first) night in our new home, and boy is it overwhelming. There is still TONS left to do, not to mention having to clean up and get the rest of the junk out of the place we just left.

We've been packing all week, but last night was the big push as the movers arrived at 7am yesterday morning (Friday). I got about 3 hours of sleep, and I don't think Corey got any. The hardwood floors were supposed to be done today, but are not! They only have minor details to finish up, but it's still an annoyance. I just got done laying the rug and rug pad in the dining room in anticipation for the furniture's arrival tomorrow. I am dozing and dozing and dozzzzzzzing.....as I write this. G'night folks.

Buy Hawaiian Made

2008-08-25T02:41:00.003-04:00

and boy did I!? So, prior to going home, I perused various Hawai'i websites and calendars to see what was going on around O'ahu while we were home, and I saw that the Made In Hawai'i Festival was going to be held at the Blaisdell Exhibition Hall on August 15th through August 17th. I couldn't believe my luck! We are moving into our new home in about a week, and a big part of the trip home was finding items to decorate our new hale. I was so excited to attend. I told my hula sistah, Anne, about it, and she was looking forward to it as well. Turns out, we both couldn't attend on the 15th (she left later that day), so I went on Saturday instead.

Upon entering the Hall, I was amazed at the amount of booths there were - over 450. Unbelievable! It was pretty overwhelming. I was unsure of how to attack, so I decided just to go from row to row. I had Ka'ala with me in his stroller so was pretty hard to navigate cause had choke (planny for yall Mainlanders) people. Nevah even like move, so I just had to bulldoze my way through.

The items available for sale ran the gammut from Hawaiian printed blankets/kiddy stuff, koa knick knacks/furniture, jewelry, food sauces, bath & body goodies w/ Hawaiian ingredients, t-shirts, decals, art/photography, and on and on.

What was even MORE ingenius was the USPS setting up outside so folks could ship to family on the mainland. JACKPOT! I was headed out because I was carrying so much stuff plus pushing the stroller, but when I saw the USPS, I decided it was a great idea to send stuff right from there. I pulled up with Ka'ala (sleeping, thankfully) and the friendly folks inside the booth helped me immediately. They grabbed everything out of my hands and starting to pack my stuff up, while Creighton (another USPS employee) sat me down at a laptop and walked me through setting up an account at their website. After about 30-45 minutes of trying to figure out how some of my stuff would be shipped (mini paddle, art work, food items, etc etc), I shipped a total of five boxes to our new home in VA. So I rushed back in to the other side of the Exhibition Hall and proceeded to add more plastic bags to my wrists. 'Auwe!

Finally, I decide enough is enough, and head out to the car. Ka'ala was ready to go back to tutu's house too. That night, I decided I should go back being that Sunday would be the last day and some of the sellers may have items discounted.....and boy was I right!!

My mom told me to leave Ka'ala with her, and I jumped at that offer. :) Kealaula & Ikaika went to church with my sister, Maile, so I was flyin solo. I found deals on Hawaiian printed pillows, food sauces, jewelry, bath & body stuff, and LOVE'S bread for $1 per loaf among other things!! I got 5 loaves for my mom & sister! I went back out to my friends at the USPS booth and shipped 2 more boxes to the house. Enuff already, yeah?!

There were so many patrons that I couldn't visit everything single booth or try every item out for tasting, but I did pick up a lot of cards so I could visit websites or call the businesses to have items specially made for our home. Apparently, the festival is held a few times each year with the biggest being the day after Thanksgiving in preparation for the Holiday season. That one is probably amazing.

If you have the opportunity to go in the future, you should jump at it. Visit their website at www.madeinhawaiifestival.com and check out the vendor listing. ALOHA!

Pake (Pah-Kay) Bakery Eats

2008-08-23T03:06:00.004-04:00

Pake = Chinese

This past Monday, the kids were out of school, so we all jumped in my sis' Yukon XL and stopped to make my tattoo appt at The Ink Pit on Dillingham, and then decided to head down to Chinatown to our favorite place to get manapua (and other delights), Char Hung Sut. I have clear, fond memories of us walking around with my mom in Chinatown back in small keed time and going to this place to get da 'ono mea'ai!

So, we made it there 10 minutes before they closed, HO, close, yeah!? I picked up a dozen manapua, a dozen pork hash, 6 half moon, 9 rice cakes, and these other lil things that looked like mini baked manapua, but brown with a red dot in the middle on the top. I can't recall the name. Honestly, most of us didn't like it - my mom and one of my nephews did though so they ate it.

Look da generous portions! Was friggin 'onolicious

rice cake, so creamy and 'ono

look da bambucha pork hash!!

After seeing the huge pork hash from Char Hung Sut, I thought of the PUNY pork hash you get from da manapua man so I went up da street and bought 4 pork hash from our "regular" manapua man, lol. No competition!!! Chart Hung Sut's is far superior not just because it's bigger but also because there's more meat and was just so good w/ shoyu and chili pepper water.

Almost makes you feel like a dummy for getting any pork hash from the manapua man!

A New Tattoo & Dinner at Shiro's

2008-08-21T06:30:00.007-04:00

I was unsure about getting a new tattoo on this trip. I had an idea of what I wanted, but wasn't sure about finding the right person to do it - well, I did. Venus, Greg (Anne's husband), and I talked about visiting Hart & Huntington in Waikiki in passing. I perused their website while still in VA and decided Jack Omoto was the artist I'd like to do my tat. Venus ended up getting what I hear is a great tat from them - can't wait to see it! I decided on the 2nd day of going to the Made in Hawai'i Festival at the Blaisdell, to hele on down to Waikiki and check out what H&H was all about.

For a tattoo with two words and a 3-4 inch taro plant in the middle, they quoted me $450 to $550. I was like WHA WHA WHAAA? Nah, brah, I told the guy behind the countah, das OK. I say, I stay paying for da H&H name, yeah? He says, yeah, pretty much. Whatevah! He says, eh, check out dis guy Jack, he used to be here, but he opened his own shop in Kalihi. Shoots, I tell him tank you and head out. I call Jack later that night, and decided to check out his shop. When I go the next day, I meet Lisa, his (I assume) apprentice who was very nice and accomodating. For pretty much the SAME tat I priced at H&H, they quoted me $85 - $100. Shoots, I tell her, and make an appt for the next night at 7pm. Not until I got to his shop did I realize that was the Jack from H&H's website that I wanted to do my work. Unreal, yeah!? Tank you to Matt at H&H for da referral!

So anyway, da next night (Tuesday, the 19th), I got my tattoo, and I love it. It took a lil over an hour to complete. Jack was a nice guy. The piece came out to $120 because I requested the accents at the bottom. The guy is real good. He did a lot of nice work on a bunch of NFL players & ex-UH players. Check him out at The Ink Pit Tattoo Company on Dillingham Blvd in Kalihi. He also has a MySpace too, look him up under the company name.

Me & Jack

We were heading home to Nanakuli, and I ask Maile (who came with me) to stop at Shiro's in Waimalu to get someting to eat. We decide to go insai and eat, and was friggin COLD! Everybody in dea seemed to eedah be drunk or jus all bus' up! Maaan, rough night for many of dose folks. Anyway, as always, da saimin was so 'ono. Maile got da large wun tun min, and I got da Large Big Brah Saimin with all da vegetables & garnishes. We also got kim chee & crispy gau gee on da side. Ho, da crispy gau gee was so brok da mout wit da hot mustard & shoyu. And da kim chee was 'ONO - planny gingah!!! And no can say enough about da 'ono saimin. Man.

Hot mustard & shoyu

crispy gau gee

yummy kim chee

Boy was I happy to see that bowl!!

Ready to dig in!

Ho, full, no can finish!

Food Porn (Locals Living Mainland Know What I Mean)

2008-08-20T05:31:00.011-04:00

No need to wala'au, let's get to the good stuff....

Fried Poke Bento from The Poke Stop in Waipahu (was 'ono)

Dried Ahi Poke from The Poke Stop (also 'ono!)

Loco Moco from Lunch Wagon w/ portuguese sausage my mom cooked

Plate from Gulick's

(chow mein, sweet & sour spare ribs, shrimp tempura, ume musubi)

Dinner night before we left to go back mainland

Kim Chee Tako Poke

Da best part! *crunch*

Lilikoi & Coconut w/ Condensed Milk from Matsumoto's

Mini Chicken Katsu from L&L in Waimea on da Big Island

Poi Mochi from Swap Meet

Almost Gone! Was so 'ono

Food at my sons' birthday pa'ina

Shoyu poke & poi was pretty much our daily routine

Mixed Plate from Nanakuli BBQ - YUM

Kalbi from Tasty BBQ in Kapolei

Lomi Ahi Poke from Tamura's in Wai'anae

My mom's pot roast - best w/ poi & poke!

Moku O Keawe, Waipi'o Valley Adventure

2008-08-17T05:46:00.006-04:00

I'm so happy I decided to go to da Big Island. I stayed in Kona at da King Kamehameha Kona Beach Hotel, and drove to Waipi'o to tour da rim of Waipi'o Valley on ATV and swim in da head waters of the famous Hi'ilawe waterfall. It was breathtaking. To be in the valley where Hawaiian ali'i once lived, especially King Kamehameha, was amazing. Hard for those outside of our culture to feel the same, but it was truly an amazing experience for me. Da place get so much mana and history for us Hawaiians. I was da only Hawaiian and local person on da tour. Da tour guides were good fun. Chree of dem were local boyz, and we were all talking story. Dey gave me dea info so I could contact dem when I like go back. And after talking to my braddah-in-law bout da trip, turns out he knows all chree of da locals, one of um is his cousin. Small world, yeah? Especially in Hawai'i. So, here we go.

Art Gallery where everyone going on tours get picked up

Riding da ATVs was fun and scary at some parts, but I was bookin um!

So nani, yeah? Beautiful. How lucky dat I got to swim insai.

And dea I am.

Das one tru titta jump

Beautiful Waipi'o Valley

Hi'ilawe

about 50 people live in Waipi'o Valley today. Next time, we going down in da valley.

Front Row: Mike, Me, Omar & Kapena

Back Row: UJ (from Colombia)

Da group I toured with can be found at www.ridetherim.com - I highly recommend it. I going back for da locals only "off da beaten path tour" next time I go home, and I no can wait.

Halau Night Out

2008-08-11T15:40:00.004-04:00

Those of us from the Halau who could get out on Thursday night attended the Keawe Family Show at the Marriott Waikiki Beach Hotel's Moana Terrace. It's a beautiful spot as it overlooks Kuhio Beach. Aunty Genoa Keawe passed a few months back, but her son & mo'opuna carry on the tradition of her shows w/ the rest of the group that performed with Aunty Genoa for years. Our kumu & Gabby, one of our musicians, were asked to go up and play with them, and we were asked to dance a few numbers - Hi'ilawe & Aloha 'Ia 'O Wai'anae. Fun night, with GREAT mango coladas!!! I had chree. So on da last song we went dance, I was trying foah keep balance! LOL

All Pau!

Hula Sistahs, Venus, Me & Anne

Kumu & Gabby on stage

Me & hula sistahs dancing Aloha 'Ia 'O Wai'anae

Kumu dancing Noho Pai Pai

After da show, we went across the street to walk on da sand under the moon. So romantic, yeah? LOL One foot on sand.

Our attempt to take a pic with da Mahina (moon) in da back. FAILED! lol

Beautiful Manoa Valley

2008-08-10T21:20:00.005-04:00

My hula sistah told me about the Manoa Heritage Center back when we were still in VA discussing what we could do together when we were home. I checked out the website, and thought it was beautiful and my kids would enjoy it so we booked a tour for August 7th at 10am.

Well, Thursday, Aug 7th rolls around, and we were LATE! LOL Island time, for sure. We showed up around 10:30 and my eager kids, knocked on the residence of the Cooke Family, and Mrs. Cooke was none too happy. Oh well! Margot, the nice employee of theirs, gave us a real quick tour for free, which was nice of her. I took some great photos.

The office at the entrance

Private Cooke Family Residence

Ohi'a Lehua Blossoms

Offering for Heiau

Kuka'o'o Heiau for Farmers

Konane (Hawaiian checkers)

Giant Kalo (Taro)

View of Downtown Honolulu from Manoa

Where's The Poke?

2008-08-08T12:46:00.005-04:00

We landed at 1:15pm Hawai'i time on Wednesday. By about 2pm, we had everything loaded on my maddah guys truck, and was headed to Alamo. Da sistah at da counta in Alamo was real nice, and da peepo outside getting da kauilas was foah shua on island time! So we finally make it on H1 and we gotta stop at Kapolei so my maddah guys can pay foah da pizza to feed da 9 keiki dat going be at da house dat night. So while dey stay in Pizza Hut, I go dig out to L&L foah buy one plate.

Hawaiian Plate, L&L

Mini Hamburger Steak, L&L

So, we back on H1 headed to Nanakuli, and my maddah stay reading my mind. She know I need, want, gotta have POKE! For all my non-Island friends reading dis blog, it's pronounced PO-KAY....but not to heavy on the AY eedah. So she tell me bout dis truck dat park at Honokai Hale, get pretty good poke. So, I'm all about dat. We stop, and dese are our choices:

Shoyu Poke

Oio Crab

I gotta tell you, da poke was real good. Lil bit spicy, but not too much. Da crab was BROKE DA MOUT!!!! Da oio seasoned perfectly, it complimented the crab creating an explosion of heaven insai da mouth!! LOL

Dis is only from da first day, folks. Moah and moah coming!!! I'm so happy to be home.....

Separation Anxiety

2008-08-03T13:25:00.006-04:00

I became a dog parent in my adult life almost 3 years ago. The kids were asking for a dog, and I decided to surprise them with a Lab Mix puppy for Christmas in 2005. We named her Deisy. We got her from a farm in Culpeper, VA. She was born on 10-14-2005. I don't think we did a good job at socializing her because she was somewhat nervous and skittish around people, and always did the nervous peeing. In the house she was fun loving and tried to be affectionate.

About a month later, a friend's Pit Bull's were having puppies. I drove down to Hampton, VA with the kids to look at the litter. There were only 2 males left, and one of them was drawn to me, so I picked him. He was the runt of the litter, but turned out to be the largest as an adult. We drove back down when he was 8 weeks old to bring him home. We named him Zeus. He was so tiny - could fit in my two hands snugly. He grew to be 65 - 70 pounds. He was born on 1-21-2006.

When I found out I was pregnant with our 3rd child, we realized early on that it would be too much with 3 kids and 2 dogs so we decided to rehome Deisy. We found a nice family for her in the Del Ray section of Alexandria. The last I heard from her new family was shortly before I gave birth to Ka'ala, and things seemed to have been going well. One of the kids or Corey brings Deisy up every now and again and we wonder how she's doing.

Well, today I took Zeus to his new home and his new parent, Matt. Our new home doesn't have a fence, and we decided Zeus couldn't stay in the home with us because he did a good job at tearing our current one up. Not to mention, he's home too long alone during the day, and I wanted someone who could give him a lot more attention and be home with him more often.

I never expected to love him so much. When we first discussed getting ONE dog, I wasn't thrilled with the idea. Anyone who knew me would never characterize me as an animal person, but I fell in love with Deisy and Zeus, but especially Zeus. He would often sleep in the bed with me and go riding with me in the car. I treated him as one of my children, but not to the ridiculous point of thinking he was human.

When I got ready to leave the house with him earlier today, I couldn't even talk. I started to cry and had to wave at Corey to get my son to say goodbye. When I got to Matt's house, I cried. When we were inside the house talking about Zeus and when his next vet visit should be, I cried. Matt told me we could come and see him anytime or even take him for a weekend. He said he was merely Zeus' step-dad. I laughed. I know Matt will love him just as much as I do, but I worry that he may get loose and scare someone. He can be intimidating because of his size - not to mention he's obviously a Pit. But he's a big teddy bear. Whenever I pull up to the house, you can hear his high pitch squeal at the mere site of me. A big baby.

All of this over a dog, heh? I would have never imagined this myself. I suppose a lot of it is guilt. Guilt from being a failure that I had to give him up. Guilt from raising him as a child and we being the only family he's known, and now we're giving him away. I guess in some way, this blog is my mourning his rehoming. A way for me to get it all out and be done with it.

As I was walking out of the yard, I made the heart wrenching mistake of looking back and seeing his cute big head slanted to one side with the look of, "Hey, where are you going without me?" on his face.

This sucks.

Honey, I'm Home!!

2008-08-01T21:41:00.006-04:00

I was perusing the freezer aisle in Safeway ovah heah by my hale, and wot you know!? I come across dis container of ice cream! I stahted to salivate, and wanted to try um right dea in da stoah. Funny too cause I jes went find dis website dat sell different type honeys from da Big Isle, and I believe Ohi'a Lehua honey was one of them.

Look da lil pockets of honey! I gotta say, was so 'ono dis ice cream. Not overly sweet, but nice and subtle. You gotta try um, brah!!

Office Potluck

2008-07-29T00:20:00.007-04:00

I love to cook, I love to eat, and I love to blog! Perfect combination, if you axe me. So, I was at Safeway and decided, eh, maybe I should bring lunch for the office tomorrow. Thinking I should probably do something quick and easy, I decide to make chili and take rice, sour cream, and cheese for the fixins.

As I walk through the produce aisle at Safeway, I decided I was hungry for my homemade guacamole, so I decided to bring some of IT along to the office as well.

Browning the garlic, ground beef, and ground chicken

Add 1 can tomato sauce

Add approx. 1/3 of a 32 oz. can of crushed tomatoes

2 cans of THIS:

looking good...

Add 2 cans Bush Chili beans (1 Mild, 1 Medium)

And here you go! I normally let it all marinate for about an hour

Too lazy to make rice tonight, so I opted for Diamond Bakery Soda crackers instead!

as well as sour cream & cheese....'ono!

Now, on to Napua's Lemon-Lime Guacamole:

a small yellow tomato for slight sweetness

half of a Vidalia onion

4 ripe avocadoes

add salt & pepper to taste, and then the juice of 1 lemon & 1 lime

mix, and then add a small handful of chopped cilantro

mix, and BAAMMMM! So creamy, so yummy.....

It's Saturday, so that means HULA!

2008-07-26T18:59:00.003-04:00

and at our halau, that means 'ono food!! Today, I took some teriyaki spare ribs, rice, and mac salad today for everybody to grind. This whole food thing has really morphed into something amazing. I started to take food because I was brought up to share, and was always told if I don't have enough for everyone, then don't bring nothing!! So, because we there almost all day, I would bring food so my kids can eat and whoever else like.

Well, last year, I organized a clothing drive for the homeless in Wai'anae, and took a good amount of clothes home and donated them to Kamaile Elem's "store" for the homeless students. This year, I've collected even MORE clothes and we've asked everyone who eats to donate a dollar, 2 dollars, whatever they can (but no need donate to eat) - and all the proceeds will go towards shipping the clothes home with the balance given to Kamaile Elementary. I haven't counted in the last 3 weeks, but at last count we had $369!! Last year, Kamaile had a huge population of homeless students, 40%!! Mindblowing, yeah?! 'Auwe.

Macaroni with seasoned salt & fresh ground pepper

Hellman's (Best Food) Mayo

Gulden's Mustard to give it a kick!

Tuna!

Add da sliced olives, and OUILA!!!

Kalakoa Update

2008-07-22T19:51:00.002-04:00

We have confirmed paint colors! Elyse and I had a "date" at Home Depot. She went to the one across the street from her job in a suburb of Denver, and I went to the one here by my house in Alexandria, VA and we looked at paint swatches.

The accent wall in the living room will be Ralph Lauren Regent Metallic Paint in Golden Light. The accent wall in the dining room will be the same color. The accent wall in the master bedroom will be Ralph Lauren Regent Metallic Paint in Sage Chiffon. The main level, basement level & rest of the walls in the master BR will be Glidden's Bonjour Beige. Both stairway walls & common area upstairs will be Glidden's Water Chestnut as well as the bathroom on the basement level.

I also picked out gorgeous bamboo floors for the main level. Can't wait to see it all done!

Kalakoa And Other Dilemmas of a New Home Owner

2008-07-20T23:55:00.003-04:00

We closed on our new home on July 15th (YAY!), so now onto making it OUR home. Ho, ass why haaaaaahd! Ha kum nobody went tell me? Martha Stewart I am NOT! I like to keep a nice, cozy home, but I am not a decorator by any means. I stay struggling just to pick out da paint colors! Our sellers (more about them down below) were nice enough to let us come by today so I could lay out the color scheme for our contractors. I'm even more confused now! However, I finally got in touch with the closest thing to Martha Stewart that I have in my back pocket, my best friend, Elyse. We talked and she helped things make sense and seem somewhat easier. She really wants to be out here to help, but she will have surgery in August and will be recuperating when we finally get to move in.

From the time we had a contract on the house, I've been scowering the web and its many different home decor & furniture websites looking for ideas. And OMG, I discovered HGTV, and what a friggin mistake. I wish I had never found this channel.....why can't I quit youuuuu!? Guess what's on the tube now? I know, I have issues.

Anyway, so the whole home buying thing has been quite the experience. We were extremely lucky to have found GREAT sellers. They are an older, Polish couple who took really great care of the home. It was their American dream - and now they move onto the next chapter of their dream in their new, luxurious home! The night we signed the contract they cooked a great meal for us, and we had great Polish vodka! LOL All throughout the process they have been very accomodating. We didn't have an agent, nor did they and it made the whole process much easier (and cheaper)!

It's late, and I need to hele off to hiamoe and have nightmares of orange drapes, pink dishwashers, and kukae green furniture. AAACCCKKKKKKK!!!!! Das what I get foah teasing all da pilipino kalakoa tatas on da bus back home during small keed time! 'Auwe!

*sigh*

I'll Put My Posse Up Against Yours!

2008-07-17T22:15:00.002-04:00

I've been working in DC for over seven years now, and it still excites me to see the Presidential Motorcade. The whole production of it is pretty amazing. The POTUS sure does travel with a huge posse, even if it's just right up the road to the Capitol or Catholic University.

So I walk out of one of my properties to head back to my office. My assistant and I notice that the roads have all been blocked off - even pedestrians are told they can't cross the street. And there's a helo up above just hovering and going around in circles. So, we're like, WTF!? I shrug it off and say, "Oh, probably somebody important coming through - maybe the POTUS." And sure enough! Was da buggah!

We see 4-5 MPD motorcycle cops....

then 3-4 MPD squad cars....

then 3-4 all black Yukons w/ flashing sirens and lots of antennas....

then 3-4 all black sedans w/ flashing sirens.....

then the POTUS' decoy vehicle....

then the POTUS' vehicle....LOOK! Laura Bush smiling at us!

then another black SUV with men in the back seats pointing these HUGE guns out the windows

(supposedly they can shoot 4,000 bullets in a minute, wow!)

then 2-3 more black SUVs with back windows open and SS agents just looking out of them intensely

then a bomb squad vehicle.....

then an ambulance....

then more MPD squad cars.....

then more MPD motorcycle cops......

I really need to carry my camera with me more often. I always say that and keep forgetting. There's always some crazy and/or neat stuff to see in the city!

31 Years and Counting....

2008-07-13T20:48:00.005-04:00

31 years old today. My papa would've been 81. I miss him, and think of him often. He is always the first one I think of when I wake up on my born day. I was just dreaming of him and I together on the beach when my husband and 2 eldest woke me up with a beautiful card to wish me happy birthday. What a way to wake up, yeah?

Corey, me, and a handful of my hula sisters had brunch at Alexandria's Chart House, which is right on the Potomac waterfront. So beautiful!! I had not been there before, and was wondering what the hell I was thinking having lived here all this time and NEVER been down there. Brunch was great. Always nice to eat good food and have even better company. Many laughs were had. So onto the pics!

So beautiful, yeah?

Water Taxi

Da Happy Couple

I always find it hard to resist ahi when on the menu.

Corey's eggs & NY strip steak

Anne's Eggs Benedict...look 'ono!

Kauanani's Lobster Omelet

Clam Chowdah dat I went demolish!

Hu da hot lava cake...YUM

Da 'ohana!

Opening my bday card from Anne & Venus and hearing da "Hot Stuff" song....LOVED IT!

I Had Big Crabs!

2008-07-05T20:49:00.004-04:00

So late dis post. I trying foah catch up! My hula sistah and good friend, Venus, went get her Associate's Degree (congrats again!) so her parents had a dinner for her at Joe's Crab Shack in Fair Lakes (aka: boondocks!) LOL. I tink so dis was last week Saturday night. Here's da lovely pics!

Da crew!

Da waitresses dancing to some Car Wash song
I had to get my big ass up and show them how to really move! Ha!
Me and 'Ala
HU KA 'ONO!
Keep em comin!
Dungeness!
Oh let da wreckin begin!
And the aftermath....

Hau'oli La Hanau, 'Amelika

2008-07-05T18:14:00.005-04:00

4th of July has never been a big holiday for our 'ohana. Growing up, we did nothing special for the 4th. Yeah, militant Hawaiians, you sayin, yeah? LOL Nah, not really dat.

Anyway, so I have a new property that delivered around Memorial Day so I took the two eldest with me to the property to watch the fireworks since the rooftop terrace has an unobstructed view of the Washington Monument. We provided food for any tenants that wanted to show up.

Anyway, here are a few pics I took.

Rainy view of the Washington Monument from my property (the drops you see are the rain on the 9-foot glass parapet at the top of our rooftop terrace)
Tennis court across the street at the Old Convention Center site - supposed to have some famous tennis players playing this summer
Some of the crowd that showed up
Me and my 2 eldest getting ready for the big show
the best pic I got of the fireworks

Uncle Sam Take Me Awayyyyyy!

2008-06-12T20:20:00.002-04:00

The saying is true, the grass is NOT always greener on the other side. As a result of the husband being medically discharged from the USMC, we are on private health insurance via my employer for the first time in ELEVEN years of being married. Frankly, for the first time in my adult life I am not being cared for by the government (medically, that is).

It's been interesting. I had to register da whole 'ohana on my company's website and den go on da medical carrier's website and make shua was right and request da medical cards. I made an appt for my youngest keiki's 12 month well baby checkup at a family care practice since I tinking da whole 'ohana can go there whenevah any of us get sick, yeah. So, his appt is at 9:30. I get there at 9:20 cause I know I going have to fill out paperwork. I do the paperwork and get it back to da receptionist.

I watching da clock. 9:45 rolls by, 9:55, 10:05 - ah, finally I am called to pay my copayment ($15) - of course dey not going forget dat, yeah. 10:10, I'm called back by a nurse with my son. She puts the baby scale on da FLOOR for me to LAY him on. WTF? OK. We wait like 10 more minutes at the doctor comes in. She is DISORGANIZED, seemingly scatter brained, asking what the issue with my son is. I say (in an annoyed voice), "he's here for his 12 Month Well Baby checkup." She says, "Oh ok, how old is he again?" I AM VERY ANNOYED NOW. *deep breath* "He's 12 months old, hence the TWELVE MONTH WELL BABY CHECK UP!"

Doctor: Oh ok, so what's the problem?

Me: thinking to self: shouldn't she start checking his heart, etc? He's having a hard time weaning to whole milk. He keeps throwing up & having diarrhea. Even when I only put a quarter of the bottle as whole milk.

Doctor: Did you try putting just half whole milk?

Me: Um, I said I'm only putting a quarter's worth.

Doctor: Hmmmm. Might have to try soy or something. What kind of formula?

Me: Carnation Good Start

Doctor: Oh, soy based, right?

Me: Nope, cow's milk.

Doctor: You sure?

Me: *highest level of annoyance* Yes.

Doctor: *hand over mouth* Oh, might have to try soy milk.

Me: *making stink eye*

Doctor: what else is the matter? is he up to date on his shots?

Me: Yes, I have his record.

Doctor: OK, give to me so we can file.

Me: No, I'd like to take it with me.

Doctor: Why?

Me: Cause I plan on never coming back.

Doctor: He needs his shots, right? He's up to date, yes?

Me: Yes, but quite frankly, as piss poor service I have got here, I would not let any of you people poke my son with a needle.

Doctor: We only have 2 pediatric nurses.

Me: And that's my problem why? If I had known this, I would've NEVER came here.

Doctor: *walks out and tells nurse* prepare an MMR vaccine for this child.

Me: No don't bother, we're leaving. *walks out*

I WAS SO DAMN PISSED!!!!!!!!!!!! The service from the military has gotten TONS better since the eleven years we had been receiving medical care through different facilities. They at least get you in on time these days.

Like Poke?

2008-06-07T21:17:00.004-04:00

ahi, that is. And, uh, heck yeah! So, today, aftah hula, me and my dotta and one of my hula sistahs, Anne, and her son, went go Supah H Maht. I went pick up some nice lookin ahi foah make poke. I stay salivating just tinking about um. I went make em earlier, and stay in da fridge marinating and getting all nice foah us grind em. My kids no can wait eedah.

So, dis is how I make my poke.....real nice & quick.

Heah da ahi waiting foah me make em

Cut da sucka wit da grain

Den cube umDen hea da ingredients: chili peppah watah, sesame oil & shoyu (sometimes I add onion, ginger & kukui nut, foaget da Hayn name)
Chrow um all in da bowl, mix um real good, and PAU! Let um sit in da icebox so can get all friendly wit each uddah and marinate.
Sometimes me and da kids eat em with hot mustard & shoyu like back home. 'Ono!!!

Oh What A Year It's Been!

2008-06-04T23:54:00.002-04:00

Hau'oli la hanau ia Ka'ala!! My baby boy is one!

The 'Sex' Was Fabulous

2008-05-31T22:31:00.005-04:00

We waited four looooooooong years, and finally.....Sex & The City MOVIE!!! I went to watch it with Venus & Anne last night, and loved every second of it. From the second the theme music played, it was a riot. Women screaming, clapping, yelling at the screen when Big.....oops (no spoilers)! :-) It was everything I hoped it to be, and more. The best parts (aside from the storyline) is to watch the wardrobe changes! Amazing. 2 hours & 15 minutes long, but it didn't drag, which is something I was afraid of. I can't wait for the quality bootleg!! LOL

Culture Clash? Eh, I don't care....

2008-05-23T22:27:00.002-04:00

The husband's cousin & fiancee/wife (whatever) are up in DC from Atlanta for the weekend. I left the office early and we decided we'd go to lunch. When I get to the house, I reach out my hand and introduce myself to her, and she TURNS UP HER NOSE and looks disgusted while she puts her hand out.

Two thoughts came to mind: SLAP HER! and she's probably surprised I'm not black. NOBODY will disrespect me in my own house. And my husband is soooooooooo laid back, he won't get involved and will say nothing - makes me want to slap him. I went to the bedroom to change clothes, and he came in the room and I immediately said, "I don't like her." He starts rolling his eyes. Of course, Napua's the asshole!! *smh*

Mind you, WE are paying for their hotel while they're up here - it's Corey, but dammit that kala (cash) is mine too. I wasn't going to argue the point though - whatevah.

When they leave our house to go to their room, she tells my kids "it was so nice to meet you" and walks right by me. Muthafucka, I can't stand bitches like this - uppity with her nose all up her ass. *FINGA*

I probably will NOT be going to the wedding in Atlanta in October. Can't wait til my next conversation with his mom about her soon to be daughter in law. I'm sure she still likes me more. LOL

Oh well, RANT OVER. NOTE: I'm finishing up my blog about the trip to NYC - hopefully I'll have it done tomorrow.

Hawaiians in Harlem

2008-05-19T23:04:00.014-04:00

It had been almost 2.5 years since I last saw Elyse in Denver so when she told me she'd be in NYC for work, I jumped at the opportunity to visit and hang out with her in one of my favorite cities. I considered taking the train, but also checked airfare and realized I should just fly up being that the price was comparable to the train - so I booked it right away - without even asking about lodging. After discussing it with Elyse, she said we'd stay at her Uncle Mi's hale in Harlem.

Harlem? I thought to myself. Oooook. I, of all people, know that you cannot take what you see on TV about a particular place and believe it all to be true so I kept an open mind about where we would be staying. I've heard a lot about Uncle Mi over the years, but had never met him. I was curious to finally see him in the flesh and see his partner, Uncle Hec as well. (I sometimes refer to them as Anakala, which is Uncle in Hawaiian.) Over the years, I've often told myself I could live in NYC and would LOVE to, but after this last trip (and staying outside of the tourist traps), there's no way in hell I could live there - more about THAT later.

I was very much looking forward to seeing Elyse for another reason too - she had the gastric bypass surgery in May of 2007 and was down over 120 pounds - what a feat! I saw a picture when she was down 75 lbs, but 120!? I was sure she was going to look great. We decided to meet at the Lane Bryant at 7 West 34th Street on Friday, May 9th. The weather sucked - it had been raining all day. Because of the rain, my flight was diverted to LaGuardia from JFK thwarting our original plans to link up at JFK. I was in the dressing room when she arrived, I heard her yelling my name - I opened the door and there she was - we hugged, I took a look at her - she looked frickin good.

We finished up at LB and attempted to go to L&L, but wasn't sure of the address so we had the cabbie take us to our humble abode at 135th & Amsterdam. For all of yall not familiar with Manhattan, Harlem is WAY uptown - a 100 blocks from where we were most of the time we were there so we had to pay about $18 per cab ride up to from Midtown or Downtown. We would catch the 2 train down to Times Square or Downtown (to go to Century 21), and then get tired of all the walking and decide to take a cab back up to Uncle Mi's hale. ANYWAY, we pull up in front of the building (above the Crown chicken).....and there it was - right out of a friggin movie.

I couldn't wait to go inside and see the place I was going to call home for the next 2 nights & 3 days. We get to the front door and call up to Anakala Mi. They buzz us in and we can hear them running down the stairs.....Uncle Mi immediately grabbed me and gave me a huge hug and said it was great to meet me. I hugged Anakala Hec too. While one might think they are an odd or seemingly opposites attract type couple - just by looking at them (Anakala Mi is tall, thin & blonde while Anakala Hec is shorter, brunette with gorgeous curly hair and strong hispanic features) - when you talk to them you are immediately drawn into their genuine love & care for each other as well as how much in "sync" they are with one another. I felt very warm & secure in their small, humble apartment - just as if I was at a relative's or my mom's hale.

We ate & hung out and talked story with the Anakalas for a few hours and then decided to hit the town.

We took da 1 train down to Times Square and walked around in the COLD RAIN until Elyse couldn't stand it anymore and she got one of them Tourist Trap sweatshirts....they weren't bad looking so I copped one too.

We decided to eat at Haru, which is right off of Times Square. Da food was so 'ono, and look da pretty!

Next day we gone early down to L&L. It's Downtown so it was a loooong ride on the subway. We finally make it out of the bowels of NYC, and walk down Fulton....we almost missed it. It was hidden in the landscape of the busy, dirty city. Shame!!

Da BBQ mixed plate was bettah den da hamburger steak
Look! No even look like da real kine hamburger steak!
So, we fuel up for our long day of shopping. We walked over to Century 21, the famed dept store with huge discounts right across the street from Ground Zero. I found great stuff for the kids. We leave, and head up Church Street to Coco Canal (aka Canal St, mecca of fakes), but damn that shit was VERY disappointing. Apparently, most of the vendors were raided the week before so the "quality" fakes were nowhere to be seen. Waste of time. We decide to head up to the real MECCA, 5th Avenue. We finally made it to Gucci, but I was unintrigued so left empty-handed. Then, we came upon LOUIS! Aint it so pretty??

It took a lil while, but she finally made it out with the beautiful Vuitton that she named Chloe, LMAO.

So, we're at the bottom of Central Park when we exit LV - near FAO Schwarz and decide to take a horse drawn carriage ride through a portion of the park. It was nice, and hell no I aint showing you all the pictures.

Finally, we go back to Times Square, watch Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and then walk around some more stores in Times Square and we see a huge crowd. Apparently, Will Smith was filming a movie in the heart of the Square. I tried to get a peak at him, but there were way too many people.

Last day in NYC, we eat breakfast at this great diner in Harlem called The Bus Stop. The food was friggin slammin.

My steak & eggs w/ fries. YUM.

French toast, Elyse & I shared
Elyse's feta & spinach omelet, it looked good.
Anakala Hec's strawberry waffles w/ sausages.
Were all fueled up and agree we needed to peruse at Century 21 more. I found Timberland slippers for all the kids, and we leave. We walk up Broadway and come upon City Hall Park. It had a beautiful fountain.

I left NYC a few hours later. Of course, made it to JFK late and had to get rebookd on ANOTHER (late) flight. It was such a pain in the ass. I love VISITING NYC, but finally realize I could never leave there. No peace of mind. The best thing to come out of this trip was Elyse and I realizing we don't see each other often enough and we need to make it a priority to get together.

Where Do I Begin?

2008-05-16T23:37:00.002-04:00

So much has happened since my last post. Or is it just that I haven't had time to breathe because my job is 85% of my life!? Yuck, I know.

Items I need to blog on very soon: trip to NYC with Elyse, hula drama, Gucci-rama, being debt free, day trip to WV, buying a new house, etc etc!

I will try to focus.

I Stay Tiyed - NJ Turnpike Blues

2008-04-29T20:04:00.005-04:00

Wow. What a whirlwind weekend me & some of my halau sistahs had (not to mention our 'ohanas too). We had regulah practice on Saturday and then we went to a performance at a church in Princeton, NJ on Sunday. It was for the Native Hawaiian Restoration Project. It commemorated the relationship between Queen Lili'uokalani & President Grover Cleveland and his support of her monarchy.

So, me and Kauanani decided to ride togeddah. We embark on our journey at about 5am. And good ting cause she had da GPS - until da ting went crap out on us around Exit 4 on da NJ Turnpike. So we stay figuring, well, Princeton is one well known place - going have signs directing folks dere - NOT. What da blood clot?!! So we get off da turnpike at Exit 7A or something at this dump of a Sunoco travel plaza. It was the first time I had to squat over a toilet in a long time. Anyway, we buy a map & some libation and we are on our way again. We take exit 8A and ask the man in the toll booth how to get to Princeton, and he points us in the right direction. We make it there in good time.

It was an interesting performance. Nevah have too many folks in da congregation that showed up, but was OK. Kumu (or Kalei) decided we should do all three verses of Aloha 'Oe so I called it our lil freestyle session of the performance. LOL Hands everywhere! I told the ladies afterwards that we should have a plan B if something like that happened in the future.

There were two kane from Hawai'i in attendance. One looked haole, but you could recognize him as being from Hawai'i with the tapa wrap around his suit. The other was Leon Siu who is the organizer of these projects. Not very talkative, but to each his own, yeah.

Anyway, the congregation loved the performance. I had to forego the trip to President Cleveland's grave site as a work emergency came up. 'Auwe! On the way back to DC, my boss called and asked me to stop off in Philly at a prospective building we are looking to purchase while he handled the emergency at my property in DC. Whew!

So, while in Philly do as the Philly residents do, right!? CHEESESTEAKS!! After circling the block about 3-4 times, I finally found a lil spot right across from where the line was starting at Geno's. A block away there was Pat's King of Steaks with it's own sprawling line outside of the eatery. My order: 4, provolone, WITH. NICE!! LOL I get flashbacks of the Soup Nazi on Seinfeld and me getting yelled at so you know gotta order right like da locals do.

By the time we got back to DC at about 6pm, my eyes were milimeters from being closed. I was exhausted - what an understatement.

Alright, we all know pictures make the story bettah!!

Art sculpture on Princeton campus

Kanikapila after da performance!

Uluwehi, Me, Kauanani

Geno's!

For The Love of Spam

2008-04-13T20:53:00.003-04:00

Raise your hand if you believe our economy is in a recession. I'm not an economist, but it doesn't take a genius to figure out things aren't so good. With the dollar at its weakest in years, and China owning most of America's debt, it's definitely not looking good. But we all know that politics, the economy, and so on is all relative. What is "bad" to someone, may not be so "bad" to someone else. I think you're following me.

So, that being said. I was at the commissary today and noticed that the price of spam has dropped to $1.99. WHOA! Within the last six to nine months, I've seen it drop from $2.89 to $1.99. I put an extra can in my wagon. I guess the logic is that if folks are having to tighten their belts, maybe they'll eat more spam? Eh, works for me. I would still eat spam if it was $5 a can. But I guess there is a downside to this whole thing too. If everyone is eating a lot more spam could a possible spam shortage *gasp* be on the horizon?! Blasphemy!

The Sweet Smell of Defeat

2008-04-09T21:30:00.003-04:00

*shoulders slumped & eyes squinched*

I feel defeated. It's not often that I feel like this, but when it pours, it POURS. The proverbial shit has hit the fan, and someone has hotwired it to spin backwards to spit that shit right on my face.

I have an extremely demanding job that is all encompassing. What that means is that it requires a bunch of different skill sets to be successful at it. I've been told throughout my career that I'm gifted at what I do, and I believe it's not just because of the skills I possess, which are necessary for the position, but also because of the passion I have for it. When an asset is entrusted to me, I treat it as my home - it becomes "mine" so to speak. The demand part of my job doesn't bother me - I've always thrived on that. It definitely keeps me busy, which I like. The part I can't stand is that which is out of my control. I had to do a few WOO-SAHs in my office today and a couple of fist pounding on the desk. It helped - some.

I'm going to keep this short & sweet because I am in the middle of a new budget, first quarter reporting, and regular daily stuff that comes along with the territory. I have to shore up my operating statements with a critical eye, and the problem is that my eyes do not want to stay open. Ha.

I hope everyone is having a better week than me. A Hui Hou. Malama pono.

No Worry, Beef Curry

2008-04-06T20:32:00.006-04:00

Well, almost - more like beef stew. So, I finished the RPA class today, and came home around 4:30 this afternoon. I had all my stuff ready to make my stew. Long time I nevah make em, so I was 'ono for it. And the best part, that's right, pictures!!

Here are the basic ingredients: garlic, ginger, chili peppah water,
onion, beef (duh), potatoes, celery & carrots!

Oops, forgot da tomato soup & sauce!
And da chicken broth, but I nevah get one pitcha of dat.

So, here are da chopped up veggies

You gotta boil da beef (I added some chopped onion) for like 45 min

About 45 min in, you add da tomato soup & sauce & carrots, den let simmer like 15 min
Den you add da rest of da veggies, let simmer about 30 min more
& OUILA, you get 'ono beef stew

No forget to cook yo rice so it's ready when da stew pau!
I love to eat it w/ kimchee & crackas too.

Ready fo grind!

So, one of my generous hula sisters (Uluwehi) gave me some frozen poi. I was skeptical, but figured I'd try it so I can eat em with my stew! It was sitting in my fridge for da last week. Da texture of dis ting was nuts!

Look at em in da bowl all broken up.

I went put em in da microwave for 35 seconds, den 45 seconds & den 45 seconds
again....and dis how went look when I took em out.

I kept stirring & went put em in da microwave for like 1 minute more in
30 second intervals. You could smell em.....just like fresh poi!!
I went put water on top and went put em in da fridge for about an hour.
Da texture was hard to get used to, but TING WENT WORK!!!!!
Ho, I stay so full right now.

If you know anybody from Hawai'i, you know most of us folks is pretty passionate about food. Especially da kine we grew up on and da family would sit around and talk story & 'ai ka mea'ai (eat da food). Hahd up hea cause we no can get a lot of stuff easily, but when we do.....go fo' broke! Broke da 'opu!

K, I going lay on my bed & watch Howard TV (will blog about Howard soon). K, brah!

Bloggers' Puka In Da Head (Local Kine Writers' Block)

2008-04-05T22:15:00.004-04:00

I have so much I want to blog about, but I'm not feeling very creative right now. READ: Too tired to write much! I've already deleted a draft, and who knows, may delete this crap too. I've been extremely busy at work, and started a class on Thursday that ends tomorrow (Sunday). BALLS TO THE WALLS, for real!

The husband and I celebrated our 11th year anniversary on April 2nd. ELEVEN YEARS! We went to the movies this evening, and I snapped a few shots. Nothing special.

Anyway, I will try to blog during the week as things unfold at work. Maybe it will be good to vent about certain frustrations.

A hui hou. Enjoy these pictures. Notice the carefully cropped photos to rid the world of my second chin!! I apologized to the guy at the movies tonight who I bought the tickets from for having to look at my horrendous military ID picture. It's a conspiracy, I tell you. Those people at the ID office are evil. They don't give you much time to smile, and you look like a damn pumpkin head in da photo. Me anyway. Alright den, lataz.

Hanamokos Foah Dayz

2008-03-27T20:43:00.005-04:00

If you one of dem peopoz dat stay queasy in da 'opu (stomach) den dis is not da blog foah you. Ho, man, da last few days has not been so good. Tuesday I woke up not feeling too good, but chocked it up to spring time allergy season in da DC area and went hele on to work. But dat night, I was in terrible shape. Da husband was so good to me, he went take da kids bowling wit him so dey no hana'ino me while I trying foah rest. You know, us maddahs, we no like admit dat sometimes we need foah rest too - especially doze of us dat work full time too. I realizing moah & moah dat I need to SLEEP and not be working all crazy hours of da night from home. I do go to da spa as often as I can, but I need SLEEP! Ah, dat reminds me, I gotta get back wit my vendor dat like treat me to one spa day. *sticks out tongue* No be, J! ;-)

Anyway, ho, Tues night I no could sleep. I had bad kind chills w/ one fever, all kine coughing, choke hanamokos, was jes bad! Probably some pitchas of my hanamoko filled tissues wouldn't be one good ting, yeah? Ok ok, I not going upload em. hehehe

I nevah go work yesterday, but was back in da saddle today. Foah da most paht, I feel bettah, but still no moah big appetite. I had crackaz w/ buttah, PB, and lilikoi jelly for my dinner! Woo-hoo. My Diamond Bakery crackaz came in last week (I tink) - ho, no could wait! Hea one pitcha of my lovely crackaz I had foah din-din.

Saloon Pilots on da left; and Soda crackaz on da right!

I looking forward to tomorrow, which is HAPPY ALOHA FRIDAY!!! A hui hou kakou!

Unauthorized Pictures, Kim Chee, and Other Life Lessons

2008-03-24T00:19:00.009-04:00

We ventured out for a half day of family fun later in the day (technically yesterday, Easter). For us, during the colder months, that means one of the neighborhood box stores (Walmart, this time), maybe a stop to eat, and a drive out to what I like to call the "bright" side of the Capital Beltway, Fairfax, VA, to go to Super H Mart or Lotte, which are Asian markets that I frequent. I can get foods I eat at Super H or Lotte that I can't find at Safeway or Shoppers. The thing I hate about going to either of these stores is that the Asians (mostly Koreans) look at you crazy and try to run your ass out of the aisle by sideswiping your wagon or your first born. Bastards. You think me flexing my Chinese heritage might help this little sitchiation? Yeah, I didn't think so either.

I figured Super H would be a great place to take some pictures so I could blog on it, and share pictures of some of the stuff they have. They also have little restaurants that you can eat at as well, which we did have some great bulgogi and kimchee at after we were done shopping. I take one picture by the seafood section, and the kids say they have to use the bathroom. So we make our way through the battlefield known as the Produce section, and wait for the kids to finish their business. I ask Corey if he thinks anyone will say anything about me taking pictures, and he gives me his standard crazy look and asks why I'm taking pictures. I say (the obvious) cause I want to blog on it, and he gives me his standard EYE ROLLING. Whatevah, I say to myself. I'm GOING FOAH BROKE!

And dat means asking Deijon to take some pictures. Das right. If you had kids you would do the same thing. If you have kids, you know you've already done it. Kids are great for getting them to do stuff you don't want to. Is it right? Hell no. Do I care? Well, yes and no. Shit, I always had to get my mom a beer out of the fridge or cooler as a kid, so I figure in the grand scheme of things, asking my dotta to take a few pics in a grocery store aint no big deal. At least I don't make my oldest play mommy to my younger ones. (Here, let me help you off of your high horse.)

OK, so let's move on to da pitchas......

Seafood section (variety of fish, shellfish, squid/octopus, cuttlefish, etc etc)

Battlefield known as the Produce Section (you walk out of dis area w/bruises)

another view of the battlefield

Look da sugarcane - we used to chew um up small kid time.

da lady stay making da food foah people to test

ABALONE!!! I was so excited foah see dis. Was LIVE!
I only evah went eat um out da can as a kid. So u'i da shells, yeah?

Hea one up close pitcha. I love da shell!

I went flip one ovah, and went look like opihi undaneath!

Kim Chee Section

(I going tell you one story bout dis lady in dis section down below)

Lady putting da seasoning on da napa cabbage made to ordah!

(yeah, I going tell you one mo'olelo ma lalo bout dis pitcha too)

K, so, we get to da kim chee section, and I say to Corey, ok, hea da kim chee, lemme grab one bottle. Dis Korean lady pull up w/ her wagon as I stay looking which bottle I like and say "How you know about kim chee?" Wow, I nevah expeck dis question, so I say, "I been eating kim chee all my life back home in Hawai'i." She says, "oh" Brah, you awready know what I going say, yeah? Da Wai'anae in me was bout foah come out, but I jes went let em go. Whatevah! Life lesson foah her: No say dumb tings to strangers.

So anyway, we get to da section wea get da big pile of cabbage and da lady putting da seasoning on um foah one lady dat stay waiting. I ask Kealaula to take one pitcha as I go get noodles foah make fried noodles. I see her coming back to us, and one Korean boy following. He no can speak English. He says, "me on pitcha?" I look at da pitcha on da camera and he not so I say, "No, you not." He start foah mumble oddah stuffs, but I not really paying attention cause he no can speak English. I tink so he trying foah tell me I need to axe permission before I take pitchas. Eh, maybe he right, but oh well. I walk ovah to Corey and he says, "What, he aint got no damn green card?" LOLOLOL! I have another theory. I think he's a raging gay internet porn star who is covering up so his johns (I mean fans) don't know his day job is at da Supah H. But hey, to each his/her own. I tell Corey, eh, let's get out of heah foa dey try to kakaroach my camera! So we go eat at da lil place selling bulgogi and load up da Honda and hele on home.

Our car rides are full of backseat chatter amongst Ikaika and Kealaula that is NONSTOP. Corey and I hear Deijon say, "Where'd you get that gum?" Corey says, "My friend gave it to me." An imaginary one, I suppose, cause before we got to Super H, he nevah have no gum. So Corey asks Ikaika to give it to him, and there is Korean writing on da gum. Corey says to Ikaika, "You know how I know you got this from the store? It has Chinese writing on it!" Ikaika says (and I'm laughing as I write this), "My friend is Chinese!!" LOLOLOL!! Give him choke points foah coming up wit dat on a whim, yeah?!?!

I start yelling at Ikaika telling him he cannot steal or take things from people because it's wrong and you can go to jail, and I tell him I'm going to take him to the police station where they will put him in a jail w/ big bad people. He starts whining about not wanting to go to jail. Silence. As we get closer to home, he asks again, "Are you going to take me to the police station?" I say, "Yes!" He says, "Noooo" and starts to cry. I tell him he needs to tell us the truth. He finally admits to seeing it in da candy aisle and taking it and putting it in his pocket because he wanted some gum. I tell him FIVE million reasons why it's wrong, and hopes he learns his lesson. He says he has. Time will tell. I've come to realize that disciplining the kids with the back scratcha is not always the answer. Sometimes talking and being calm helps too. But just in case it doesn't, I always get da back scratcha and da fly swattah.

Easter Fun With The Kids

2008-03-23T23:38:00.006-04:00

I'm an atheist. From that you might surmise that I don't celebrate Easter, and you'd be right. But it's a tradition in America, and I want my kids to say they did something similar to other kids at school, SO, when I was off for a few days a few weeks ago, I tapped into my inner Martha Stewart and made a few Easter baskets. Big deal, you might be saying, and you'd be damn right! I was damn proud of those baskets.

So, the kids and I sat at the dining room table, and I helped them with the craft kits that were in the baskets and stole a piece of candy here and there when they were busy arguing amongst themselves. No dying of eggs, no hiding of eggs, none of that stuff this year.

Here are some pictures to memorialize the day:

Ka'ala finishing up his Hawaiian Delight (look at his teeth & da Wayne Newton hair!)

my keiki (L to R: Ikaika, Ka'ala, Kealaula)

Ka'ala reaching for his bunny basket

It's Saturday, and that means Hula

2008-03-22T15:59:00.016-04:00

Saturdays in our 'ohana mostly center around hula if the halau is not on hiatus. I feel lucky to have found my halau when I did because we had already been living in the DC area for like 4 years, and I was really wanting to get my dotta in one halau to learn from others (aside from me) about our culcha. We dance with Halau Ho'omau I Ka Wai Ola 'O Hawai'i in Alexandria, VA - stay like 10 minutes from our hale.

So my dotta's class is early in da morning, and mine is later in da day. Because of that, I almost always cook food for us to eat cause we going be there all day. And you know Hawaiian style, we shayah wit everybody. My maddah always went tell us, if you no moah enough foah everybody, no bring 'um!

So today, I went make spam musubi and asparagus wrapped in bacon. I always try foah make local kind food cause weekends is when I get da most time foah cook plus everybody know I can eat - especially food from home.

So I went take pictures, and I going shayah wit you guys how I make my musubi. Sometimes I make portagee sausage or hot dog musubi too, but today, only spam.

So hea da main ingredients:

aloha shoyu, spam, nori, rice

Most people nevah see spam and what look like out da can.....YUM!

Ok, so now you gotta cook da spam, like dis hea:

When da spam stay cooking, mix togeddah da shoyu, lil bit shuga, and foah dis time, I went add Hawaiian Chili Peppah Watah.

So when da spam pau cook, you gotta put em in da shoyu mix and soak lil bit:

K, now you gotta put some watah in one bowl to use to help keep da nori closed around da rice & spam.

K, good to go now. All you got left is just putting everyting togeddah. Hea da steps:

Put da musubi mold on top of da nori

Put rice insai da mold
Get one spam out da shoyu mix and put um on top da rice

And den now, you fold um. Sometimes I put furikaki on top da rice too, but I went use em all last time.

And now, GOOD TO GO.....put saran wrap around um, load em in da bag, and ready foah 'ai (eat) da musubi!

Ho, we went grind! I also went make asparagus wrapped in bacon. Was so 'ono!

Finally, heah some pitchas from us dancing Kaho'olawe foah our performance in April in NJ.

I gotta run Walmart to get my hula binder bettah organized, so I spock you guys latah! K-Den!

Post About Nothing

2008-03-20T23:29:00.003-04:00

I'm so excited to have this blog. I will be here blogging (hopefully) weekly if not more, but this week has been KUH-RAZY. It really has been balls to the walls this week with different deadlines and the grown children (better known as ADULTS) that I have to deal with regularly. *stink eye*

Without giving up any details and/or names, let's just say I had the pleasure of being berated and yelled at by an asshole of a tenant on Monday for something that was beyond my (or my company's) control. Eh, it wasn't the first time a tenant has gotten out of line with me, and I'm sure it won't be the last, but this specific guy is a royal prick. I going send him one jah of humha. He like be stink, I'll show him stink.

It's likely that the weekends will be the best time for me to have subjects for this blog. But I do work in DC, and if you've ever been there you know that crazy shit happens in our Nation's Capital, and I so niele so hopefully my camera stay nearby and I can take pitchas!

Speaking of which, here is one from the recent anti-war demonstrations on 3/19 in the District

LOLOLOL!!

A Hui Hou No Keia Manawa, Kakou!