Midlife Kauai Sis: Open Mind, Open Heart Blog

Never Despair, We Shall Prevail!

2011-08-11T17:28:00.003-10:00

Just when you thought I'd given up blogging, here I am back...but I'm totally copping out by posting some photos I got in my email box and with the Dow Jones plunging down lately, we sure need some cheering up.

How on earth could the stock market be down when we have such amazing products on the horizon, sure to sell by the millions? Our fellow human beings are constantly thinking of the next hot item that we can't live without. I tell you, it's so inspiring and reassuring to know that our enterprising friends will always be around to boost up our economy. Dow Jones down 2000 points? Big deal, wait til they get a load of these gems, I'm telling you, the economic outlook will shoot up for sure!

Okay, so I've been wanting something like this because it can be such a pain to carry crackers or cookies while drinking my mocha latte. I'll probably spend more on cookies now that I have a place in my mug to stash 'em. So you see how this mug will stimulate the economy in TWO ways? Woohoooooo!

Next we see that the prayers of thousands of waithelp have been answered. Oh--my--god--this will surely revolutionize the restaurant business...NOT. I mean the concept is there, but what's with the finger bumps that take up a third of the tray?

Uh, I guess some people have to be silly 24/7, even while drinking their Starbucks coffee. Of course people who drink Starbucks coffee--$4 for a small cup that's called "Tall"--may automatically assumed to be a little crazy. And they should've colored the teeth coffee-stained.

Now this one is something legitimate! A teabag dunker/timer! I can't tell you how many times my tea was too strong because I put the teabag in and walked away for more than a couple of minutes. You know how it is (read this blogpost). This is both cute and practical for tea drinkers!

Here's another great idea! No more searching for someone to take your photo! When Jordan and I were at the fountain of Saint Michel in Paris, people kept coming up to me to take their photo. It was very weird. I think it was because I was Japanese. They figured I wouldn't steal their cameras because I probably already had ten.

We needed this at every single bon dance we attended this summer! Although we had a large umbrella, it wasn't quite big enough so we tried using two. We had to hold them at perfect angles or someone (usually hubby) would get dripped on. This would certainly take care of that! Awesome!

Probably the same person who invented the finger tray above invented this one. Not a bad idea, especially for kids and drunk people.

Ohhhkay, now this ladder is definitely not for drunk people. It looks iffy to me. It somehow reminds me of some teen boy climbing up a trellis to sneak into his girlfriend's bedroom. Then the trellis breaks away from the wall....

I love this one. Makes me wish we had stairs in our house! Hmmm, maybe others will feel the same and build second story extensions on their homes. That will provide construction jobs and see, more economy boosting!

I don't like this one because there's no way I'm wearing this! Do you really want to advertise the number of a potbelly?? This is for the bold and beautiful ...or maybe the boastful.

If indeed we experience the "double dip" recession despite the brilliant inventions seen above, it doesn't mean we will stop having brilliant ideas. No siree Bob, poverty inspires even more inventiveness! First of all, thank you to ThereIFixedIt.com for the following:

Hopefully grass prices will remain low...

Of course there's foot power. That way this guy can actually afford to put some food in his shopping cart.

Plastic shopping bags are illegal on Kauai so unfortunately we may not be able to make these nifty thrifty "backpacks".
Speaking of plastic shopping bags, did you fellow Kauaians ever imagine there'd come a day when you scrounge around for these bags and treat them like gold? When I go to Honolulu, I'm thinking of raiding my mom's closet and bringing some home.

"This here is called a Dust Book. In the ole days, your grandpappy an' me used to have World Books that we had to use to make school reports. There was no such thing as Google. Wikipedia? Nope, Encyclo-pedia. But now I got me 22 Dust Books to sweep the floor."

Yiyeeeeee I'm both repulsed and impressed at the same time.

And lastly, if the stock market crash makes it impossible for us to see the lovely old fountains of Europe, never fear. As Humphrey Bogart might say, "We'll always have Plastic."

Thanks to ThereIFixedIt.com and Humorsharing.com for the photos!

You Save Hundred Fifty Dollah Here!

2011-07-15T19:17:00.000-10:00

This is a re-broadcast of a post I did last year. It's that time of year again for graduation photos and for anyone on a tight budget, I thought this may be helpful:

I know I just posted about more ways to save money a couple of days ago, but I just came across another one today while going through a pile of "stuff" that's been sitting in a box for...uhhhh...YEARS. [No sense in my trying to hide that fact since those who know us well know that Jordan graduated two years ago!] As school will be starting soon and some of you will be faced with the expense of Senior photos, I decided to post this immediately.

When we decided to let Jordan go through the graduation ceremonies, we found that the senior photo deadline had already passed. We had to rush to get a photo for the yearbook so we went outside and took some photos of her in our backyard. Happily they turned out pretty well and I emailed one to the yearbook class.

As graduation approached, I realized that we'd need photos to pass out, so after ordering more prints from the drugstore, I went to a photography studio in Honolulu and was able to purchase black photo folders for under fifty cents each. I think you can probably find them online for even less. I'd advise using either a rotary cutter or paper cutter to make trimming the photos easier.

Next I went to Vistaprint.com and using their template, easily designed those name cards for the graduation announcements and photo folders. They cost under $20. Note: Try coordinating the cards with the photo to create a theme.

All considered, we spent under $50 and maybe 3-4 hours (taking photos, ordering prints and cards, trimming photos, etc.). A photo package from a professional photographer will cost from $200 to $400, so wow, by being "late" we ended up saving money...and not just fifty cents either! (See posts below if you haven't already.) Russell Peter's father would be impressed, I think!

Now I realize if everyone did this, the professional photographers would lose business. Rather than blame me, they ought to take it to whoever originally had the idea to go "natural." Remember when all annuals had those senior photos where everyone had to wear graduation caps? Or how about those fake tuxedos and fake gowns? Even worse.. the FURRY gowns? Oh my god!! [For the integrity of good journalism, I am selflessly inserting an example of a typical "fur" photo. That's not me, it's some typical late 60's/early 70's conformist Hawaii teen who contributed to the demise of many hair salons back then.]

That photographer thought he was being clever by letting seniors to go "casual," and the students probably cheered him, thinking "Thank god I don't have to wear that goofy furry thing!!" but inadvertently, he/she now allowed us to do it ourselves. Big oops! So as Stephanie Plum always says, "It's not my fault."

More important than just saving the money, doing it yourself gives you such a great feeling of accomplishment. Besides, the money you save will be spent on something else, I'm sure, still contributing to the economy!

Sweet Teeth in Paris

2011-05-29T00:38:00.004-10:00

A common sight in Paris: enticing pastries of every color and flavor
imaginable...pig flavored too?? (Click for larger view).

Paris is the home to Euro Disney, but I didn't have to go there because the city of Paris itself was Disneyland enough for me--especially for my taste buds and even more for my sweet teeth (yes I'm pretty sure I have more than just one).

As I mentioned in the last post, I ate a lot of both sweets and savories and did not gain a pound. Paris may not offer the outdoor sports activities that Hawaii does, but to see Paris properly you're on your feet a lot more than on your butt (although the most fun I had was sitting and eating!). That said, many people claim it's not just the walking but also the fact that French (also Italian and Spanish) food is much healthier with less additives. See below for a link to an interesting, yet embarrassing obesity chart by country. Embarrassing for us Americans, but when in Paris, you can relax knowing you're in skinny territory and can do like we did (Reminder: Click on photos for larger image):

At Angelina's on Rue Rivoli near the Louvre Museum

1) You don't have to wait for lunch to have dessert. At the famous tearoom, Angelina's, we had their famous hot chocolate which was dark, thick, and rich. We each had our own little pitcher of whipped cream. With it we had a huge palmier (buttery sweet flaky palm leaf) which was a childhood favorite of mine--anyone remember the old Alexander Hotel in downtown Honolulu? We also shared a pain au chocolate (croissant-like roll with dark chocolate inside). Charlie continued his Parisian chocolate eclair taste testing. After this breakfast we were ready for the trek up the Champs Elysee.

Clockwise: fresh whipped cream, chocolate eclair, palmier,
the famous Africain hot dark chocolate, and pain au chocolat.

2) Before arriving in Paris I didn't know what a macaron was. It's related to neither macaroni or macaroons. It's an interesting "sandwich cookie" made of two delicate meringue shells (egg, sugar, and almond powder) with a cream, jam, or ganache filling. Flavors are endless and creative ranging from the usual chocolate and vanilla, to the exotic passion fruit, rose, and licorice. Being flourless, you could say they're more a candy confection than a traditional cookie. It's easy to get obsessed comparing the macarons around Paris and finding your favorite flavor. The consensus seems to favor Laduree as the best source for macarons. After all, they're credited with being the creators of the modern macaron.

The famous Laduree macarons--they come in every color.

3) Another dessert we sampled more than once in Paris was the profiterole. It's not as exotic as the macaron, but for a chocoholic ice-cream-addict like me, it's just as good and much easier to understand. It's simply a small cream puff with an ice cream filling (usually vanilla), topped with chocolate sauce. Many of the cafes we went to offered this dessert due to its popularity. Our first profiterole was the best because it didn't taste like what you'd expect. Somehow the vanilla ice cream tasted different and the chocolate sauce obviously wasn't from a squeeze bottle. I was happy to find that although the components were

This one's a bit large and messy...or possibly someone
got to part of it before my camera did.

"ordinary" to us Americans, the flavor managed to say "Yes, it was worth traveling for two days to get here!" The profiterole in the photo was the second or third we had. It's relatively large, while the first ones we ate were smaller (three on a plate rather than one large). Susan, Jordan, and I devoured it before realizing that we'd forgotten to take a photo. We waited in vain for the waitress to pass by with another order, but it was just as well. Would we really have had the nerve to say "Wait! Let us photograph your profiteroles!"

Fruit Tart from Le Croissanterie at Forum de Halles

4) One of my favorite pastries are fruit tarts. The one pictured here was part of our first lunch in Paris purchased at La Croissanterie at Les Forum des Halles, an underground shopping mall. The raspberries were so large I thought they were strawberries. Like all of the desserts I tried in Paris, although the tart appears to be very sweet, it wasn't overly sweet. This could be another reason we didn't gain weight there.

La Croissanterie, I learned later, is part of a chain of "fast food" cafes. Brioche Doree is another similarchain that we inadvertently visited. Thirty-five years ago Paris didn't have these chain cafes so it didn't occur to me that we'd been frequenting

Click on this photo to see a larger version of the little pink
pigs made of meringue.

chains--duh! I probably would've avoided them knowing they were indeed part of a chain, but I think the food was still delicious regardless.

5) The best part about walking the streets of Paris is definitely "window licking" (the literal translation of the French term for "window shopping", lèche-vitrine). If you ask me, that's an appropriate term since so many of the shop windows in Paris pretty much make your tongue hang out.

Patisserie de Sud Tunisian
Photo taken by Denis Prezat

The delicious windows are not limited to just the French patisseries, but to other cuisines as well. While visiting the Latin Quarter, I found the "South Tunisian" (similar to Greek) pastries irresitible in the window of Patisserie du Sud Tunisian. Again I neglected to take a photo, but found this online. I chose something similar to baklava and Jordan chose, of course, a chocolate cookie.

6) Berthillon ice cream was born the same year I was and it's said to be the best ice cream in the world so obviously it was a very good year. We went searching for it one day on Ile St. Louis. On every block on the little island there was a shop selling it so we got a little confused. We then learned that the original store was closed that day, but happily we still got to purchase some at one of the other shops. I love almost any ice cream so yes, it was at least as good as Haagen Daaz. On any given day they offer over 60 different flavors which change with the seasons. Check out a list of the flavors linked below--pretty amazing. Unlike American ice cream, Berthillon relies less on add-ins such as candy bits--although they're not above adding them--and more on varying the flavor of the base ice cream itself using fresh seasonal fruit, spices, liquers, etc. And again, natural ingredients.

I could be wrong, but possibly the Cochon (pig) is France's
mascot or national animal. "La Vie En Rose" is on the right.

7) One evening on Rue Montorgueil it was fun to find Jordan's idol Edith Piaf honored with a dessert called "La Vie En Rose," a concoction of rose ice cream and strawberry sorbet...and a pink piggy. Naturally we ordered it for her. Susan's dessert also came with a cute meringue cochon. Well, the cafe is called "Le Pied de Cochon," after all!

8) Research before, not after, your trip. On our last evening in Paris, I was panicking. It was a Sunday. I had promised Jordan, after denying ourselves a few days earlier, that we'd have "fancy pastries" on our last day. I found several patisseries that I had hoped to buy from closed. The French are not like Americans. They actually like to rest on Sundays so most stores are closed or close early. Just when I was feeling very disappointed, we discovered a patisserie open on Rue Montorguiel. I didn't even notice the name of the shop since I was just so relieved that we'd found our "fancy pastries." We chose a few to take back to the apartment. Again, they looked super sweet, but oh my goodness, they were so incredibly delectable, I'm not ashamed to admit I was glad Charlie and Susan were too full to want any!

Pastries from Stohrer's on Rue Montorguiel. The chocolate
one in the middle was a-maz-ing.

Now keep in mind that we had just two months to plan this trip so procrastinator that I am, I didn't get to do the research I should have. I actually read more about Paris after our trip than before or during. It was during this after-the-fact research that I discovered that Stohrer's is the oldest patisserie in Paris and one of its most reputable...and located on Rue Montorguiel. I ran to look through my receipts and sure enough, that "last resort" patisserie we'd found open on our last day was indeed Stohrer's! It had been a blessing in disguise that the other shops had been closed because if I had returned to Hawaii without sampling Stohrer's wares, I would've been devastated, considering we'd been staying just a block away!

I know there are a hundred other patisseries and cafes I'd love to try in Paris. You can be sure I'll have my list ready with me if I am lucky enough to return to my Disneyland of Food.

Links:

Obesity chart by country

The Berthillon Ice Cream Story

List of Berthillon Flavors in English! Amazing variety!
French Photographer, Denis Prezat's Photostream

19 for 19 = No Bad Meal in Paris

2011-05-13T17:57:00.039-10:00

I may have lost all four of my readers due to my neglecting this blog. Aside from sheer procrastination and a million other distractions, it seems my trip to Paris is what really disrupted my flow. Of course I did write the previous entry about our trip, but I wanted to write more about Paris and somehow couldn't get my thoughts organized. Paris is just too overwhelming. To complicate matters, I've been reading "French or Foe?" It's a fascinating book about the French and their culture and my "processor" couldn't handle all the new data. My memory was already full of Paris-bytes so my blog-writing abilities froze up. Strangely, both my laptop and desktop computers seemed to mimic my own "onboard computer": the former got a trojan and went kooky, while the latter lost its voice (soundcard driver is messed---help!)...as I said, a million distractions.

Who is this Parisienne eating a Lebanese dinner?

There's so much I want to share about what I've learned over the past two months, but at the same time, I don't want to bore readers with "vacation talk". You know, like when the Smiths invite the Jones over to see vacation slides. [Personally, I don't mind looking at photos of people's trips...as long as it's a place I'm interested in and it includes food photos.] Not that I didn't make organizing my photos my #1 priority after returning to my trip, and I am guilty of forcing a few friends/relatives to either look at Jordan's thick 200-photo album or viewing the Smilebox slideshow I made, but I will leave blogging about the Paris city tour to those who are good at both recalling and writing about the details. I came across one such blogger, Noelle Clark from Australia, and if you'd like to read about her week in Paris, it's a wonderful read. (Link will appear below). My own Paris blog will be less disciplined, for sure.

Food blogs seem to be the most popular genre for both writing and reading, so who am I to buck the system? The way to a blog audience's heart may be through his/her stomach, so read on... Reminder: photos can be clicked on to see a larger version.

Endive and salmon salad at Le Boui Boui on
Rue Marie Stuart off Rue Montorguiel

Anthony Bourdain claims there's no bad meal in Paris (click for video), and although I'm sure there must be a few somewhere, my 19 meals were all good to excellent, from the simple baguette sandwiches of sidewalk carts to the decadent confections of Stohrer's; from the most French of fares--crepes,escargot, and Confit du Canard---to the least French fare--kebabs, shawarma, and stuffed grape leaves. All good!

Why is the food so good there? First and foremost, the French take their food seriously. I believe they consider food more important than money, and consequently their food tastes better than money does. But seriously, my understanding is that the EU is quick to ban additives they consider unhealthy, unlike in the U.S. In fact, new food additives must be first proved to be safe before they are allowed to be used commercially, whereas it's the opposite in the U.S. where anything "reasonably safe" may be added then only banned if it's proven harmful. Isn't that special? Money talks, American health walks. Look below for links to some interesting articles.

Seafood vendor in the Latin Quarter

Paris is full of small, specialized markets with fewer supermarkets and big box stores, which may indicate that people there shop more often and use fresher ingredients. I was surprised to see a huge selection of yogurt in all of the grocery stores we visited, even in small convenience markets. It was a pleasant surprise to find that most of the yogurt was free of corn syrup, which Jordan is allergic to. For instance, they had a plain yogurt that was lightly sweetened with sugar that we enjoyed daily. No such flavor here in the U.S., at least not in Hawaii anyway. C'est dommage.

Confit de Canard at Au Compas D'Or on Rue Montorguiel

Like that yogurt, all of the food that I ate in Paris was not too salty nor too sweet. Even when you'd expect something to be salty, such as their baguette sandwiches with cheese and ham or sausage, it surprised me that it was not. Looking at the array of fancy pastries in the windows of countless patisseries all over Paris, you could almost feel a toothache coming on, and yet I was surprised that the majority were delicious without being overly sweet. Even the canned "pate" that I brought home (duck and rabbit meat) did not contain any additives except salt and pepper, and again, not salty.

I never doubted Jamie Oliver and now I've seen for myself: despite the thousands of cafes, patisseries (pastry shops), fromageries (cheese shops), charcuteries (sausage shops), and boulangeries (bread shops) in Paris, I rarely saw an obese person, and probably they were American tourists. I ate anything I wanted to and assumed I'd gain a few pounds like I usually do when visiting Honolulu or Las Vegas, but shockingly I didn't gain even a pound. Of course we weren't sitting around much either, but considering all the french fries, profiteroles, and pastries I ate, it was quite a shock when I got on the scale at home. I've gotta go back there!! I was in heaven without even knowing it.

Although modest looking, these stuffed peppers were
absolutely scrumptious.

I can't decide which was my favorite meal so I'll say I had two. The first was Confit de Canard (pictured above: duck leg cooked in duck fat then sauteed until crispy) with sliced garlic potatoes (the yummiest potatoes I've ever had) at Compas d'Or on Rue Montorgueil. Rue (Street) Montorguiel is a foodie's paradise of over a solid quarter mile of food shops and cafes. Our second apartment was located just a short block from there and for me, it was like being in Disneyland and staying at the Disneyland Hotel.

Adana Kebab at Cafe Istanbul in the Latin Quarter

The other favorite meal was our Turkish lunch in the Latin Quarter at Cafe Istanbul. Jordan and I shared the adana kebab, which the menu calls "ground beef" but it was nothing like hamburger--more like slivers of beef pressed together, deliciously seasoned and grilled; and rice-stuffed bell peppers which were so tasty I had to refrain from hogging it all.

One of the restaurants we dined at is famous for its longevity and being open 24/7. Its name, "Au Pied de Cochon" means "at the foot of the pig" and guess what its specialty is. I can't vouch for the taste of the very impressive-looking pigsfoot because I opted for the trout instead (Again, the French know what they're doing, it was very good.)

Creepy, but crispy looking Pied de Cochon

Speaking of the knowing what they're doing, I found the French waithelp to be very professional, efficient, and polite. Most were extremely patient and every cafe and restaurant we went to had English-speaking help. The only problem we encountered was when Susan wanted a doggy bag for her dessert and was told that they had no takeout containers. Susan was quite persistent until finally we got to witness the classic Gallic shrug from the waiter--it was quite funny. He was clearly disgusted with us, but when he saw her wrapping it up in a paper napkin, he came back with more napkins.

I couldn't HANDLE the trout! At least not the whole trout,
although it was quite good and Jordan ate all of hers!

Tips at restaurants are included in the bill, so there's really no incentive for the waithelp to impress, but nevertheless, we got good service. Be advised, however, that food is not cheap in Paris. Even a modest baguette sandwich at a sidewalk cart will cost about 4 Euros (close to $6) and it's not even close to a footlong.

Speaking of sidewalk carts, we had some very filling and tasty crepes on the street near our St. Honore apartment and also next to the Notre Dame Cathedral.

Here are more photos of some of our meals:

We chose our first cafe because they had Jordan's favorite French Onion Soup on their menu. I chose quiche (below), keeping with the "stereotypical French food" theme.

The escargot we ate in Paris seemed to be less butter-drenched than what's usually served in the U.S. Yet another example of how we tend to overdo things, perhaps.

Osso Buco with teeny, cheesy macaroni--Jordan had this at Compas d'Or on Rue Montorguiel

I don't remember what this was, but I ate it at an Italian restaurant on Rue des Pyramides and it was delicioso! Oh, and dogs are allowed in restaurants there...

Our last meal in Paris was Lebanese on Rue Montorguiel. Shwarma in pita bread, hummus, stuffed grape leaves, moussaka, and rice. We don't have Middle Eastern food on Kauai so I had to get my fill!

Check out Jordan's video taken at Le Croissanterie at the Forum des Halles, which is an underground shopping mall. I laughed in surprise when I first viewed this because I never noticed her boywatching before! ("Sandwiches, sandwiches....ohhhhh cute boy...ok, sandwiches, sandwiches....") *LOL*

The menu at Au Pied de Cochon. One Euro is roughly $1.40

Lastly, if you're wondering where the desserts are, stay tuned for the next post!

Links:

Noelle Clark's Paris blog---this is just one entry of 6 (one for each day of her trip).

Fooducate---Interesting article on European food safety vs. U.S. unsafety

PlanetGreen---Corporate interests are trumping American food safety

DivineCaroline--7 Food Products Banned in Europe Still Available in the U.S.

"Non Je Ne Regrette Rien" (No Regrets): Just Do It!

2011-04-01T12:41:00.002-10:00

"How could anyone choose Paris over ME!?"

I haven't posted for over a month because I was in Paris, France. So ok, I was only there 9 days and 10 nights, but you could say I've been there mentally for two months...and it's so hard to come back despite the fact that I live in paradise!

In early January, my friend Susan asked if I was free in early March to dogsit her lovable dog, Lola, while she and her husband Charlie went to Paris. As much as I love Lola, I replied in essence, "What are you crazy?! I'd much rather go to Paris than dogsit!" Through their kindness and ignorance, they agreed to let me and Jordan tag along with them.

"Non Je Ne Regrette Rien" travelling 8000 miles to see a grave.

I've been wanting to travel beyond Las Vegas and use my passport for many years, but the mere thought of making the arrangements was too daunting. I'd turn on the Travel Channel instead. Instant gratification! The only problem was that I wanted to give Jordan that "foreign experience" that I'd been lucky enough to have had when I was around her age. Paris wasn't at the top of my wish list, but Charlie and Susan weren't going to Turkey or China, and besides, Jordan wanted to visit Edith Piaf's grave.

If you read my last blogpost, you'll see that I did go to France before--just 35 years ago. We spent 2 or 3 days in Paris as part of one of those "7 countries in 21 days" escorted tours, and all I really remember of Paris was looking at the Eiffel Tower from the bus, riding past the Yves St. Laurent boutique (I had just graduated from the UH majoring in Fashion Design), a topless mermaid swimming in a plexiglass tank at Moulin Rouge, and delicious rolls for breakfast each morning. We'd had no time for visiting Mona Lisa at the Louvre, walking up the Champs Elysee, or exploring the Latin Quarter.

This time I went up, under, in front of, and
behind La Tour Eiffel

This time it would be different, I vowed: we're going up the Eiffel Tower, into the Louvre, and no naked girls! The only thing that I assumed would be the same would be eating delicious rolls for breakfast. (More on this next time!)

I'm not going to blog about everything we saw and did in Paris, but I do want to inspire those of you who have even the smallest urge to travel to Europe. I myself became more motivated when my sister-in-law Cynthia and her husband Jack went to Italy and Greece this past October. If you're like me and feeling timid about making your own travel arrangements versus going with a tour group, I assure you that the wonderful internet has revolutionized traveling for the do-it-yourselfer.

Cynthia recommended Booking.com and oh my goodness, I quickly became obssessed with finding the perfect hotel. That's almost simple to do on Booking.com because you can see the user review ratings and read what visitors had to say, view photos of the rooms, see the hotel's distance from major attractions, available services, etc. The trick is to look not only for a high rating score, but it should also have a high number of reviews--so consider a hotel with a 8.0 rating with 100 reviews instead of one with a 8.2 rating but only 20 reviews. Most hotels also offer special rates and you can reserve rooms and cancel up to a day or two before the reservation date. Be considerate, however, and don't book too many hotels and cancel the "extras" as soon as you've decided on one.

By the way, did you notice that I said "almost simple"? Well in theory it should be simple with all these tools online, but it actually results in too many great options--enough to make your head spin in indecision! It helped to have friends who'd been to Paris and offered suggestions...except when we couldn't decided which advice to take. They were all good because Paris is filled with good hotels. Ultimately after weeks of agonizing and emailing across two oceans, we decided to abandon our original intention of staying 5 nights at a hotel then 5 nights at an apartment, and instead booked 5 nights at one apartment and 5 nights at another--both owned by Marie and Diran Loris--which I found on TripAdvisor. Because there were four of us, the 2-bedroom apartments were perfect and the rate was less than renting two three-star hotelrooms, not to mention we had more space, a fully-equipped kitchen, washer/dryer, etc.

Livingroom and dining area of our Montorguiel apartment

We had earlier figured that because we'd never been to Paris unescorted, we would benefit from staying at a hotel and getting advice from the hotel desk regarding transportation and sightseeing. I didn't regret giving that up to stay in an apartment the whole time, especially since we were fortunate to find the Loris' exceptional apartments, and they were extremely helpful over the phone. We had very few problems getting around, especially after learning how to use the Metro. [Both Jordan and I suffer from flat feet and our feet lasted 4 days of walking before being forced to use the Metro.] Many more people speak English now as compared to 30 years ago, so we rarely had to reference our travel dictionaries (my high school French did help, though!). I'd recommend buying Rick Steve's book on Paris. It helped a lot and would've helped even more if I had read it more thoroughly before the trip! Two months to plan a trip to a place as rich in history and culture as Paris is way too short for procrastinators like me.

Livingroom of St. Honore apartment, just a block
from the Louvre!

Now that I've read the book almost completely, I'm even more determined to return to Paris, something I never thought I'd want to do when planning this trip. I now realize that we missed seeing so many sights, even though 9 days is considered a long stay. Paris is tourist-friendly, easy to explore, and offers so much to see--and eat--in a relatively safe, clean (more on that later) and concentrated area.

I would urge anyone who's never been out of the U.S. to make the commitment to visit another country. Despite the illusion that the world is becoming homogenized by western (read "U.S.") culture--yes, there are McDonald's and Starbucks cafes in Paris--you'll find you're "not in Kansas anymore" and the experience will surely have a profound effect on your consciousness. Vive la difference!

Stay tuned for more!

A Happy Birthday from My Valentine

2011-02-15T00:31:00.003-10:00

It was "inevitable" (with a French accent): It was a perfect May afternoon 35 years ago in Monte Carlo, Monaco. I was 21, still young and impressionable, yet ripe for a love affair. Amazingly it's lasted this long despite the heartbreak the affair has put me through year after year.

What?!" you may ask. "You met Leonard in Monte Carlo and he's been breaking your heart for 35 years?!" Uhhhh....no.

I'm talking about putting a franc (roughly equivalent to a quarter in those days) into a slot machine and seeing $30 worth of francs come pouring out. Cha ching: I love you! In retrospect, maybe it would've been better if that darned slot machine had just kept the damned franc! I would not have fallen in love with slot machines and maybe I'd be driving nicer cars instead of a thirteen-year-old Toyota. We've been going to Vegas regularly for over 30 years and I NEVER WON A JACKPOT or anything more than $750 on one bet. Pa-the-tic.

Two weeks ago we woke up at 4:30 a.m to leave for our annual trip to Las Vegas. We got to Honolulu before 8 a.m. and found that the Omni flight which was supposed to leave at 11 a.m. would not leave until after 4 p.m. This was the first time ever we had such a long delay--and it was my birthday. Oh super.

My mom was nice enough to pick us up at the Honolulu Airport and she took us to breakfast at Eagle Cafe. This was followed by shopping at Ward Avenue Ross to help ease the pain.

We got on the plane and seemed all set to leave at 5 p.m., but the plane was apparently enjoying its time in Hawaii and would slowly pull out, then stop, wait, go a bit, stop, wait, pull back into its gate...until we were delayed yet another hour. We finally arrived in Las Vegas after midnight. Shower and go to bed? No way, we had six hours of catching up to do!

Jordan loves the Wizard of Oz penny machine so I decided to visit Chris Noth right next to her machine--that is, visit him in my favorite penny machine, Sex in the City. I don't recall if I put in $20 or $40, but Chris and Carrie were nice to me and I took out an $80 ticket.

When my mom dropped us off earlier at the Honolulu Airport, I got out of the car telling her "I think I'm going to win because I've been visualizing the "ten, ten, ten". She laughed. I should've also told her that on the Bejeweled "slot machine" daily spin just a week before, I had spun 3 blue gems and won a million bonus points. Would she have laughed then?? Of course.

Well I took my $80 ticket blessed by Chris and stuck it into my favorite Ten Times progressive quarter machine, intending to sacrifice the whole amount if necessary. I love the Ten Times machines because it's possible to win more in one spin than the other machines--of course the payouts in between are smaller, no doubt. It took me about 30-40 minutes (maybe 35 in honor of the 35-year "love affair"?) of pushing the "Max Bet" button and at about 3:30 a.m., suddenly it happened: TEN TEN TEN.

Now I can die and go to heaven---but I think I'll wait
for the three MegaBucks symbols instead!

For the first time in 35 years, I actually hit a jackpot! I did not scream---I just blinked and said "Oh...my...god!" I won $21,927. Later the slot attendant told me she'd be jumping and screaming if she'd won it, but practical me while ecstatic inside, was also thinking "Ok slot machine, you still owe me a couple more of these for me to break even!" Nevertheless, it was the best trip ever to win that much just a few hours after arriving, because we were able to spend the whole four days without worrying about losing our shirts. With temperatures in the 30's and 40's, that was a relief.

Jordan and an enterprising/engaging Zorro.

And guess what, on our trip home, our plane had to turn around for a woman who was ill and once again we were delayed six hours. Isn't life interesting!?

Comfort Chicken Adapts to Comfort Pork Chops

2011-02-10T12:00:00.000-10:00

Sorry to have been away so long--or did anyone even notice? I've been busy busy busy! Try this simple recipe I only recently discovered.
Perhaps because this is such a simple dish, I haven't heard of it before, seen it served, and seen it on any of the food shows. Too plain and simple? Everyone knows it except me? I'm talking about soft-fried pork chops.

All my cooking life I've been frying pork chops simply with salt and pepper and it's fine. The other day, however, something occurred to me. We always enjoy a chicken dish I learned from my mom, which is a soft fried chicken and somewhat of a comfort food. Since Jordan is allergic to chicken, I rarely make it these days and I thought of using pork chops instead. It turned out to be a great idea!

I used 3 thick sirloin chops from Costco and split each to make 6 chops, sprinkled each on both sides with garlic powder, seasoned salt (I think plain salt would be ok too), and freshly ground pepper. I sprayed the chops with oil (I used the chili mac nut oil, but probably olive or vegetable oil is fine) and let them marinade for a few hours. Mixed about 1 1/2 c. flour with salt, pepper and garlic powder, thoroughly dredged each chop into mixture, pressing flour into the pork. Next I heated a cast iron frying pan, added canola oil to cover the bottom. Fried the chops on each side til light golden brown and semi-crisp (not too crisp!) then covered the pan and lowered the flame to as low as possible. Let the chops steam about 20 minutes. Yummo! They turned out soft and tasty! Jordan wasn't sure what she was eating because it tasted like soft fried chicken, but she loved it.

Try this with chicken thighs also. I wouldn't even worry about marinading the chicken, just season it, coat with the flour mixture, fry briefly on both sides, then cover and simmer on lowest heat for 30-40 min, checking occasionally to make sure it's not burning. Chicken thighs are thicker so simmering time is longer than for the pork chops. Delicious and fork-tender! [There should be some oil and liquid at the bottom of the frying pan. If for some reason there's not, add a little water or broth to cover the bottom of the pan.]

Note: Once again I didn't think of taking a photo so I searched online for a photo of either chicken or pork that looked like what I made. Alas, either this dish is unique or else it's so darned plain that no one bothered to take a photo of it before! I had to resort to borrowing this cartoon (I filled in the bubble) from a site that says "Royalty Free" but it's not really free, thus the watermark. Since I don't make money from this site, hopefully they'll consider it an ad for their site, ClipartOf.com

Tenacious C

2011-01-12T11:09:00.000-10:00

If you think I'm neglecting my blog, you're half right. I've been busy--relatively speaking---so yes, I haven't posted here for over a month, BUT I did post on my other blog, auntyshouse, where I satisfy my "aunty urge" of writing unsolicited advice. So ok, I'm cheating by copying/pasting it here because I've got a lot to do this week.

_______________________________________________

I don't give up easily--and that gets me stories to tell that may be helpful to others. Some of you may roll your eyes, some of you may say, "Cool!" and some of you may even be inspired:

The other day I had to make some interisland plane reservations online. I checked hawaiianair.com and was dismayed to find the fares for the date/departure times I wanted for both ways were well over the minimum $63 fare. Oh nooo! Who was it who refuses to pay retail? Well I refuse to pay anything but the lowest interisland fare.

I went reluctantly to check Go/Mokulele and found what I wanted for $63 (total of $415 for the three of us). We're not crazy about flying Go and haven't had to for years, so I admit I was taking my time completing the reservation. I got to a page that asked for our frequent flyer numbers. As I said, we hadn't flown Go! for years, but I know we did have FF numbers...somewhere. I went through my email to search. When I got back a few minutes later, I found the page had changed and I had to start over again---odd. To my shock, the minimum fare had gone up to $71 each way person! How could this happen?!? After retrying several times, I checked the Hawaiian Air site and sure enough, their minimum fare had gone up also.

Resignedly I went back to Go with the philosophy "accept what you can't change" in mind. After entering my credit card info to grudgingly pay the $463, I clicked SUBMIT and after a one of those beard-growing waits, I got a page saying "Sorry,... DNS server could not be reached..." or something to that effect. Arrrrgh!!

It then occurred to me to check Priceline.com. Did the fare increases register immediately, I wondered? Well guess what---they still had the $63 fares!! Just one problem though. I went to my email and found a confirmation from Go!! How could that be when I got a "could not connect" message from them?! I wanted to tear out my hair at this point: to discover I could've still gotten the lower fare, but for a transaction going through that should not have gone through....hmmmm.

What if I hadn't seen the email and had gone ahead and reserved through Priceline, not knowing I already had reservations!? Shouldn't Go cancel them because they led me to think the transaction had not gone through? Light bulb moment!

I phoned Go and explained what had happened--that I saw that error message and assumed the reservation didn't go through so I went to make other reservations. Apparently this was not the first time this happened and the agent graciously cancelled my reservation and credited my card. I then gleefully went to the Priceline site where I paid the original $415--saving $48. I was mentally drained by then, but heck $48 is $48! More important, my perseverance paid off.

That same day we went to Ross for their Tuesday Senior Citizens' Discount Day. We'd gone there the day before, and while shopping I realized that we should've gone on Tuesday instead, so we stopped shopping and put back the few items we'd found. I noted down what to pick up on Tuesday with the discount, but there was a set of shot glasses that were the last of its kind. I told my husband that I wished the glasses were a little bigger (they were under 2 oz.) but I liked the design of them compared to the plain ones or the ones with Elvis' face on them. I then did what I think most ladies in my situation would do: Went back to the shelf where I found them and put them behind some large boxes. Judging from the messy shelves, I doubted that they'd be found.

So ok, on Tuesday I made a beeline to rescue my shot glasses. First of all, remember that I'm a senior and I've been "scatterbrained" from 50 years before reaching senior status (I think I was pretty sharp until I reached 6). So naturally the first place I checked was the shelf below where I actually hid them. No glasses. I checked the entire shelf again. Nope. Then I checked the shelf above it from one end to the other. No glasses.

I could not believe those shot glasses had disappeared! For one thing, Ross had a surprisingly large selection of shot glasses--maybe in preparation for New Year's partying--and secondly, those shelves didn't look like anyone had bothered to straighten them.

I went back, looked a third time. As I searched, I noticed that I could see through to the next aisle. Suddenly in my stubborness, I thought of going to the next aisle and looking at my shelf from the back, so I did. Sure enough, halfway down the aisle, I saw what appeared to be my box of glasses, but they weren't--they were actually the glasses I had wished for (slightly larger, similar cut). Like the ones I'd hidden, they were pushed to the back of the shelf, visible only from the next aisle's adjoining shelves. Instead of immediately going to retrieve them, however, I continued down the aisle, still peeking at the back of the shelf and suddenly saw the set I'd hidden! How on earth had I missed them? I could've sworn I'd checked behind every larger box on the shelf. Very weird.

Bormioli Rocco Rock Bar Shot Glasses

I then went to the correct aisle and reached behind boxes to retrieve the two sets. It was almost spooky how the second set of glasses were exactly as I'd wished for. It was almost as if the set I'd originally hidden had led me to them. Like these tiny shot glasses came alive and eluded me until I found the other set first.

Either that or there was one unhappy shopper who arrived later and found the set she'd hidden was now replaced by a set of tinier glasses!

People say we should ask the Universe and we'll get what we want. Well, I had kind of hoped for something more than shot glasses and $48, but who knows, maybe we have to start small. All I know for sure is that perseverance paid off twice in one day and gave me something to write about!

Honolulu City Bites

2010-12-17T17:27:00.003-10:00

Be careful in this garden!

Mini Garden (Beretania St.)-- One evening we went to Mini Garden for dinner. I had enjoyed the food there before and it had been crowded, but this time the place was deserted except for one other family. This was mildly disturbing but we made excuses like "it's the recession," and "yesterday was Thanksgiving, people are eating leftovers at home."

I remembered the other time I ate there and my "ESP" experience, and wondered if anything extraordinary would happen. The waitress came to take our order and I thought to myself, "Maybe since business is so slow they'll try harder." Well, as they say, "Be careful what you wish for!"

I'm sure most people will agree that generally speaking, waitresses at Chinese restaurants are "all business" rather than friendly and chatty, but our waitress was full of humor,although we couldn't understand everything she said. For the five of us we ordered five dishes and rice (crispy gau gee, chow fun. walnut shrimp, ginger chicken, and Mongolian beef--yeh unimaginative, I admit).

The first dish she brought us was salt-and-pepper shrimp and when I said this was the wrong shrimp, she said something that we interpreted as "this is extra for Mama" (as she kept addressing my mom throughout our visit ). At the end of the very delicious meal, she brought us bowls of coconut tapioca and I told my family how I had "predicted" this when we first arrived. Yeh right. After we packed up our leftovers, Miss Personality told us we could pay at the register so being the house accountant, I followed her. She told me the bill was $70+ and as she swiped my card I thought $70 seemed high. Because she had been so nice, rather than demand a recount, I told her "You didn't give us the itemized bill." She replied to the effect "ok let me write it out, I'll bring it to you."

I went back to the table where we debated between not leaving her a tip and leaving a good tip. After all, we had no menu to consult on pricing (how much was the rice, we had to ask for tea---do they charge for tea!?)---so we couldn't be 100% sure she added on the dishes we assumed were free, although I was 90% sure.

She didn't bring me the bill and since the food had been so good (msg?) and we're basically a non-confrontational family, we just left as she cheerfully bid us good night.

Upon leaving, however, it continued to irk me that I had let that pass and intended to at least phone the restaurant later to talk to the owner. I wondered if the owner would even care and primarily wondered if the owner had an accent like Miss Personality's. I found a similar complaint online about the same restaurant, although it involved a waiter and a patron who actually had the itemized bill. I did call the restaurant but the owner wasn't there and the lady who answered sounded like Miss Personality. She told me to call in the morning, but I haven't yet.

I ordered an Italian omelet...scrumptious!

Cafe Kaila (Market City)-- My high school girlfriends were planning to get together for lunch (see below) and one of them recommended Cafe Kaila at first because she had enjoyed the food. After reconsidering, they decided on Tsukiji and that was a wise choice only because Cafe Kaila is not recommended for groups of more than four. It is almost always packed, from what I read online, and sure enough when we went for breakfast at about 8:30 a.m. on Sunday morning, we had to wait about 15 minutes for a table. If we had gotten there a few minutes later, we would've had to wait even longer!

Strawberry Belgian Waffle...sans
whipped cream.

The service was good considering that the place was packed--not that it's a big place, though. The food came fairly quickly and the servings were generous. It's totally understandable why Cafe Kaila is so popular.

Tsukiji (Ala Moana Center)-- What a perfect place for a get together luncheon! I always enjoy Tsukiji, but be warned that the price went up to about $20 for lunch, probably due to the price of fish. I'm not sure if the price goes down after the holidays.

Seven of the 18 Chantares, Kaimuki High School...
Class of Long Time Ago

I thoroughly enjoyed visiting with a few of my fellow Chantares--needless to say it was nonstop talk!

Hasu and "Sushi Tempura"

I love that the desserts are mini-sized!

Yummy! Shaved Ice with the works!

Desserts are my favorite part of the meal and at Tsukiji, although the cakes were good, my favorite is the shaved ice. You can choose your syrup (the melon is delicious!) and whether or not you want azuki beans and/or condensed milk. Yes, yes, yes!

During our 4-day stay we also ate at Zippy's (Nimitz and King Street) and Kakaako Kitchen--all very good!

I didn't get to have my dim sum at Happy Days this time--next time for sure!

Note: Click on photos for larger versions

A Profitable Black Friday!

2010-12-12T17:58:00.002-10:00

As I said previously, our 4 days in Honolulu like "dog years" gave us what seemed like 28 blog-worthy Kauai days.

On Black Friday we went out shopping and returned home to my mom's 5 hours later Hubby parked the car and asked "Do we have anything in the trunk?" Mom and I were silent for a second, then we both answered no. It suddenly dawned on us at the same time, "Hey! All we bought was Jordan's ball!" We looked at the fancy rubber ball Jordan held that lights up and sparkles when you bounce it. We all burst into laughter. "Wow, this is incredible! Do you realize we actually went shopping on Black Friday and came home with only a $10 ball?!?!" What was even more remarkable was that we came home with more money than we left with.

We really did go shopping: We went to Sam's Club, Office Depot and Office Max in search of a good deal on a laptop. We did find one at Office Max, but ended up not buying it after all. There went almost 3 hours--after all, you can't expect us to just spend 5 minutes at Sam's Club: so many food samples, so little time!

At the risk of sounding like a paid advertisement, the next hour was the key to the "came home with more money than we left with". We went to visit the Gold Guys at Ward Center,* armed with their full page ad. We actually went first to the Wedding Ring Shoppe, but left because there was too long a wait and the atmosphere made us feel like we might end up spending instead of making money. At the Gold Guys, however, there were several tables of appraisers with customers and hey, we were offered cookies while we waited. "I'm home!"

We were finally called to a table and my mom promptly asked our appraiser if he was one of the Gold Guys (eye-rolling on my part since he looked nothing like those guys). Turns out the Gold Guys don't even live in Hawaii. Never mind, just so their money is here!

The appraisal process is very drawn out, especially since there were two of us--my mom and I--each with our own jewelry junk pile:

1) The appraiser first goes through the pieces with a magnet and rejects anything that the magnet sticks to.

2) Next he used a jeweler's loupe to check for markings such as "925" for silver, or "14kt", etc., segregating the jewelry into little piles. This step took very long for some reason--I think he checked and rechecked every piece!

Chemically testing for gold content

3) THEN he did the chemical test, at which point I asked why he couldn't have jumped to that step from the beginning if it was so definitive? I suspect it was to build suspense, but he just said it was the procedure they followed for assurance, or something to that effect. The chemical testing involved rubbing the jewelry across a small rectangular piece of what looked like black rubber. He'd do 3 pieces of jewelry at a time, making 3 separate scratch lines on the black rubber, then added a liquid chemical to the scratches. If they turned black, then it was not what he was testing for (i.e. there was a different solution for each karat type). If a sample turned black, he'd test it for a lesser karat.

I was offered $39 for a 1 gram ingot and
I later learned they go for about $60
on eBay.

It seemed to take so long that I was beginning to feel foolish, wondering if the time and effort would be worth it. It didn't help when after taking apart a Croton watch I had, he weighed the 24kt gold ingot that adorned the flip-up watch cover and figured that it was worth $39. Hmmm, admittedly it was thinner than I expected, but only $39 for what I thought was the best piece of my little pile?? Uh oh! [I decided to keep my Croton watch intact and get it fixed, so "No deal!"]

The gold I sold was a much smaller
amount than this.

When he finally got everything tested and segregated, he weighed each group and came up with my total of almost $400. I was very pleasantly surprised, considering I didn't consider any of that jewelry useable: an old S-chain that was kinked, a plain gold chain bracelet that was too big for me, a broken anklet that was so thin it'd break again if I had it repaired, a tiny charm that I never used (seriously...a deer?!), a pendant I never used ("from an old boyfriend", just like the commercial says!), plus 3 old chains (not heavy!) that were either broken or too short for my tastes. What was even more amazing was that he weighed it with stones and all and then offered the stones back to me (a small jade, small gold coral, etc.), although I didn't take them. We had brought in a coupon from their ad which added another 15% which put the total at over $400.

My mother was pleased to get about $150 for some old silver earrings and two class rings (again, weighed with stones). At one point, as the appraiser scrutinized her old pearl ring and a pair of silver anthurium earrings stamped "Ming's", I told her she should keep them. She said "Nah, why? I have no use for them." He weighed them and said he'd give her $7 for the two. "What!? No way, I'LL give her $7!" and woohoo, I scored the two "antiques" for $7!

And so we left the store after about an hour and a half, turned right into the Brookstone Store and bought Jordan her beautiful $10 light ball. For us, it really was a "black"--rather than "red"--Friday...and I didn't have to sell a single appliqued tshirt!!

*[UPDATE: One of my friends called me today to tell me that after hearing my story, her daughter took their jewelry to The Gold Guys in Ward Center and got over $500. The buyer asked who referred her and she gave my name. I didn't realize they have a referral program! So please give my name (Colleen M. Toyama, in case you didn't know) if you sell your gold there also (first visit only). Thanks!]

A Week--I Mean a Day--in Honolulu

2010-11-30T13:17:00.002-10:00

You've heard of "dog years", but have you heard of "Honolulu days"? We got seven times more action/excitement/crap/fun/stress in our four days in Honolulu than our usual four days on Kauai (except maybe during a hurricane). If you're one of those who consider Kauai "anti-aging," then Honolulu must be "pro-aging"!

First 24 hours:

Our stress began on Kauai because for the first time in over 30 years of traveling, we almost missed our plane. Just wanted to inform my five readers (yes, I believe I have five now!) that if you're not at the airport within 30 minutes of your flight, they will not check you in. Do you remember the good old days when 30 minutes was the usual for a lot of people? Leonard had to work late so I thought I could check in online, but later found that web check-ins are only allowed up to 2 hours before flight time. When we got to the airport 25 minutes before flight time, I expected to check in at the counter, but was told we were too late and would have to stand-by for our flight or go on the next flight. Thankfully the security wasn't crowded. [It's a good thing we were rushing, I didn't have time to feel resentfully embarrassed about the BODY SCAN I went through! My attitude was more like "Quick, here's my body, get it over with!"] We got to the gate as they were boarding and the agent at the desk fixed our ticket so we could get on board ok. Big whew!!

The flight actually left three minutes early and we got there promptly, but Dollar Rent-a-Car threw us the next stress. There were two agents helping two customers and yet it took us almost a half hour to get our car. We've been renting cars from Budget, Alamo, and Avis for years through third parties online and this was the first time we chose Dollar. Is it just a coincidence that this was also the first time the online quote did not match the price Dollar actually charged us? I recall renting from Dollar once about 15-20 years ago and we weren't very happy with them. Well at least they're consistent!

We automatically stopped at our favorite coffeeshop, Eagle Cafe on Nimitz Hwy. and they had just closed! Are you beginning to sense a pattern here? We ended up at Zippy's King Street, but the restaurant had a long waiting line so we had to go to the take out side (which also took very long). It astounded us that even after 9 p.m. on the night before Thanksgiving, Honolulu people were flocking to Zippy's.

Line in front of Lee's Bakery

My mother had asked us to go to Lee's Bakery to pick up a custard and peach/pear pie. She had read an article that said Lee's was opening all night to avoid the long lines on Thanksgiving Day. Well ha ha... there was a long line just after 9 p.m. with some people sitting on chairs they had brought. Seriously, I've tasted their pies and they're good, but not so good that I would wait in a line for them where you need a chair. So we just kept driving. (Next morning we went to Dee Lite Bakery--a bit more expensive, just as delicious, and no need to bring a chair).

As it turns out, the Dee Lite pies were the best part of our Thanksgiving "lupper" (late lunch, early supper). For the past five years my mom has been on a quest to find a good ready-made Thanksgiving dinner and we have yet to find it. This year she chose the Hyatt Regency's "Turkey Dinner to Go" and everything in the very nice box was chilled and had to be heated up. This involved a lot of transferring to pots/bowls which was more work than we cared to do (they should've packed the food in foil containers). We followed the instructions for heating the turkey and although the skin was dangerously close to black, parts of the turkey were still cold and disturbingly pink. The cranberry sauce was tasty, the stuffing wasn't bad, but the mashed potatoes, gravy, yams, and pumpkin pie were unremarkable. The corn chowder was as thick as mashed potatoes. I wondered if this meal was actually made by the Hyatt or just processed food they ordered frozen?

Rapunzel's pet chameleon Pascual was just one of the
funny delights in the movie "Tangled".

Happily our first day in Honolulu ended well at Ward Cinema where we went to see "Tangled". I loved this movie! And the popcorn was almost as good as Kukui Grove's!

Note: When I started typing this I intended to write about our four days in one posting. I forgot my own premise that one Honolulu day = 7 Kauai days, and after writing about the first day I realized 4 days would practically constitute a book! So please come back to read the next installment(s) which will include our interesting Black Friday, the strange Chinese restaurant incident, and the Russell Peters concert! AND of course my Honolulu restaurantlogue.

Bring Your Dollar(s) to the Craft Fair!

2010-11-22T22:33:00.002-10:00

Mary Ching's Lauhala Hat Kitchen Towels are 3-D!

It's not a good thing when a craft fair is only four hours long and yet I have time to make a few bracelets plus take a tour of the fair photographing crafts. Yes, it was a somewhat slow morning for me at the King Kaumualii craft fair last Saturday, but as we vendors often say, "Better than staying at home!" (As long as, of course, you make enough to cover your table fee and the materials you used.) Of course I actually love staying home playing Bejeweled or watching YouTube, but yeh, can't make money doing that.

Carolyn Ogata's Cupcake Potholders

The Ogatas' Geta Table Accessories

Despite selling my handcrafted clothing for almost 20 years, I often come across people on Kauai who have never seen my work. Craft fairs have been popular for even longer than my 19 years in the business, but obviously not everyone attends craft fairs. We should be urging attendance not just to "keep it local," but because there are many creative and quality products being produced in a diningroom or spare room near you! There are hundreds of other very unique products, but pictured here are just a few.

If you haven't been to a craft fair in recent years, try attending one again. They're not as crowded as they used to be--which is sad for us crafters, but good news for you shoppers! At Hawaii craft fairs--and I'm sure the same can be said for craft fairs throughout the U.S.--you are purchasing quality products that are made by your neighbors rather than supporting foreign products, often of lesser quality. Ask for a business card or receipt so if in case of a problem you can contact the crafter. Return/exchange policies differ with each vendor, but many are very accommodating.

Crocheted Potholder Gift Pack

Charlene Adric's Platter Gift Pack

Many vendors make gift-giving a cinch by preparing gift packs for you. I loved Charlene Adric's very creative idea of writing, printing, and assembling her own mini-cookbooks and including one in each of her colorful and attractive kitchen gift sets. (Reminder: Click on any image to see a larger version.)

Pam Coyamin's Potluck Must-Have's

A couple of my favorite items were what I call "potluck must-haves" made by Pam Coyamin. The first is a 9 x 13 pan cover. No more messing with foil that won't stay on, no more having a lift up the cover to peek at the contents, and no more condensation problems. I can't wait to use mine! Next to it on the table were soda box covers. OMG!! The aluminum foil business is in serious trouble here!! You will be the hit of the potluck with these items no matter how bad a cook you are! *LOL*

Miss Hillary Handbags is much more than handcrafted bags!

If there was an Eye Candy award for this fair, I would give it to Hillary Akau. She has a very eye-catching "boutique" of a table that would catch any girly girl's fancy. You want to just eat her creations, but you have to wear them instead. Visit her Etsy store at http://www.misshillary.etsy.com/ .

Pink and green is a combination I find irresistible!

One Size black iris dress

As I'm writing this I'm wondering why I'm showing you everyone else's craftwork and not my own? Am I beyond shameless self-promotion? Heck no! At the fair while I was selflessly photographing the other crafters' creations to feature here, it never occurred to me to photograph my own....so I ran just now to take some photos (notice the closet door backdrop)! [Again, click on any photo for a larger version.]

Black tank "3 Cards" design

Men's Texas Orange Palm Pocket

If you've been following the local news, we micro business people--much smaller than small business--are now under scrutiny because apparently the State suspects we're making billions in cash that we're not reporting. That's pretty sad, but understandable giving the shortfall of funds that the government is experiencing. Craft vendors have been doing less and less business each year from what I hear from my "co-workers" and in my own experience. I've had my GET license for the 19 years I've been in business so it doesn't affect me much, but it's a tad annoying that Walmart can make billions using cheap Chinese labor and those of us here at home trying to compete with that are being "nickeled and dimed."

So take your dollah to a craft fair please! Speaking of which, Russell Peters will be at the Blaisdell this Saturday! Check him out here: my "You Save Fifty Cents Here" blogpost.

Okay Diner Now Okay Plus

2010-11-08T16:32:00.001-10:00

I love restaurants. I don't enjoy cooking so I'm not very critical when I eat out, unless of course the food or service is extraordinarily bad--which it usually isn't. It's especially fun to go to a new restaurant, though, because somehow a new restaurant seems to invite extreme criticism! We start channeling Gordon Ramsey for some odd reason.

So the other night we happened to check out Kauai's newest restaurant, Tiano's--formerly Oki Diner--on their opening night. We had no idea it was their first night. Frankly I wouldn't have chosen to try them on their first night because heck, I've watched enough Kitchen Nightmares where the "made over" restaurants are given brand new menus and expected to perform to a full house that same night to Chef Ramsey's expletives-deleted accompaniment. I figured they do that just for the TV drama because the producers hope for chaos to make "good TV." Well they probably could've brought their cameras over to Tiano's because there seemed to be almost as much opening stress that night.

Delicious rolls were freshly baked!

Tiano's has an open kitchen, meaning it can be seen by diners, In fact, as we waited to be seated, we could observe the directing of the food servers with a certain amount of stress evident. I'll bet if they were behind a wall, there'd be some outright yelling going on! I overheard one server asking, "Which table is table 2?" I mean DUH!??! Surely they were briefed before opening? I could understand forgetting which was table 14, but 2?? Table 2, it turns out, was just ten feet away...the second table from the serving area. Then I heard the manager saying "she's going to the wrong table!" Fun stuff like that.

Chef's Chopped Salad...yummy!

When we got our table, I was relieved to see it was a good distance away from the serving area. Our waitress came quite promptly to take our order, but way too soon. We asked for "a couple of minutes" and ten minutes later she wasn't back. It's not like she was that busy either. We observed her wandering--not rushing--back and forth not even glancing in our direction. When we finally caught her attention, it was obvious she had totally forgotten about us--no, we weren't in the back corner. She also got Jordan's order wrong. She's lucky she's cute and she did apologize nicely.

The meatloaf looked good.....

Dinner took a loooong time to arrive despite the fact that we'd arrived relatively late and most tables already had their food. Of course being the first night, I have to make allowances. Another complaint I have is one that I always have: Why do restaurants give us just one napkin and if we use it, our utensils have to sit on their bare table that's probably germ-ridden, judging from the fact they use cloth towels to wipe them? No one else has a problem with that? Only me and Howie Mandel? It seems like 99% of the restaurants we've been to do this.

The steak was done perfectly,
but Blazing Steaks is better.

So now the food. We loved the freshly baked rolls we were served early, they were slightly sweet--like sweetbread--crusty and perfectly warm, served with butter. The chopped salad was very good and we were able to share the small ($4.99). It had romaine lettuce, provolone cheese, salami, and garbanzo beans with the right amount of dressing. Good start!

This doesn't usually happen, but we all ordered beef that night: meatloaf, hamburger steak, and steak. Leonard absolutely hated the meatloaf and I didn't disagree with him because I tried it. School lunch meatloaf is better, IMHO! He was especially annoyed because it was labeled "Mama's" or something like that and he said you'd expect it to be good if it has someone's identity associated with it. Maybe their Mama is a lousy cook, who knows really? It seemed to be pure meat, but low quality gristle-y meat. The only positive was the generous serving.

Third beef plate: hamburger steak.
Yes, they all look alike.

The hamburger steak was slightly better, and the steak was ok (it was done perfectly and fairly tender, though a bit thin), but Blazing Steaks' $6.00 plate is way better. All three beef dishes seemed to have the same gravy--very dark brown. I didn't think it was bad, but Leonard said it tasted like powdered. The garlic mashed potatoes were disappointingly un-garlicky and had a slight tang rather than buttery.

I think Tiano's problem is that they're attempting the heroic: low-priced gourmet. The food looked good, served on heavy plates, so you--perhaps unreasonably--expect gourmet. For instance, perhaps they want to offer a gourmet meatloaf that has a lot of beef, but to keep the price down, they're using lower quality beef. I say go ahead and use bread like the rest of us! I could be wrong, but personally I like meatloaf that almost falls apart from the bread. Same for hamburger patties. I know for a fact that those "old-fashioned" hamburger patties that we love have a lot of bread in them. (My grandma had a soda fountain in Palama and made very delicious hamburger patties.) I do appreciate their attempt at trying to give us upscale for moderate pricing (the three beef dishes were around $11.99-$12.99), but they may be aiming too high.

When the waitress brought the check, she neglected to tell us that the "cash only" message on the receipt was incorrect. After I had triumphantly, yet begrudgingly, scrounged $44.76 in exact change (including 11 pennies) I asked if this "cash only" policy is temporary and she said they do take credit cards. Since we were one of the late diners, I wondered how many times she'd had to repeat the "Oh no, we take credit cards..." to people. Wouldn't you think she'd learn to give the diners their check and say "Ignore the old Oki Diner message on the receipt, we do accept credit cards" by then? Maybe by next week she'll learn.

Overall I'd give the restaurant 3 out of 5 stars based on what we ordered and the service we received. Oh wait, I just remembered that Oki Diner has an average of 3 stars on Yelp.com, so I have to revise this to a 3.5 stars. Oki was notorious for it's filthiness and they're the ones responsible for the tacky "cash only, ATM machine located in restaurant" on the receipt (how can a restaurant with more than 10 tables expect to survive this way?). One of the more generous reviewers in Yelp dubbed them "Okay Diner". Tiano's has done a complete--and attractive--makeover and hopefully will keep it well-maintained. Possibly next time we visit and order different items, I can give them even more stars. For now, they're "okay plus". We are certainly happy to have a clean restaurant with the American/local "diner" menu that they have instead of yet another Asian/local "barbeque".

To anyone about to open a new restaurant, I would recommend:

1) 2 napkins under the silverware unless you have disposable placemats.
2) Fresh flowers rather than plastic for the first few nights at least. I sometimes wonder if NO flowers is better than fake? How about dried instead? How about taking an idea from party centerpieces--there are a lot of nice ones that don't require any upkeep once you make them, except maybe dusting.
3) Give bigger portions for the first month or two because you're building a reputation and giving a little more is totally worth the good word-of-mouth recommendations you'll get, especially if you're not high end.
4) Hold a class for your employees to teach them the table numbers--at the very least Table #1--and teach them how to look around at their tables as they pass by rather than zombie walking to get the water pitcher, zombie walking to get the check, etc.
5) Pretend Howie Mandel is a regular customer because as Oki Diner probably discovered, a reputation of uncleaniless is very difficult to overcome.
6) If you inherit the previous owner's cash register, learn how to re-program it to remove tacky messages such as "cash only...ATM next to the karaoke machine."

If anyone wants to add to this list, feel free to comment and maybe I'll post the revised list later. You never know who may be reading them! Hi Chef Ramsey!

Nightmare on Lanakila Road

2010-11-01T23:11:00.001-10:00

Thanks for not giving up on me! I haven't been writing regularly because it's craft fair season and I have fairs every weekend until mid-December PLUS as the story of my life goes, after months of very little work, I'm now getting more work assignments for my internet job. "When it rains it pours," "Feast or famine," etc. etc.

I'm writing this in the parking lot behind the Hanamaulu gas station while waiting as Jordan exercises at Curves. I know I should be exercising too, but I'd much rather sit in the car and read, or in today's case, write my blog on my laptop.

Orange Grove Frozen Yogurt

This Halloween since Jordan's too old to go trick-or-treating, we let her dress up in her modest "Lady Gaghoul" get-up--she's just happy wearing a wig so I admit I spent minimum effort on this--and went to the Kukui Grove Halloween event to look at the kids dressed up, then our usual Costco shopping, then back to Kukui Grove for dinner. For the first time we tried Orange Grove's frozen yogurt shop: a bit expensive (over $12 for three smallish servings). What I liked was that it was fun to serve yourself and the delicious variety of flavors and toppings. Perfect for someone like me who hates trying to decide between flavors. I tried lychee, pineapple, coconut, chocolate, and mint..all in one bowl. I would definitely go back!

After dinner we drove from Lihue to Wailua Houselots to see what Jordan calls the Boo House (aka Haunted Yard). The yard is haunted by the likes of Edward Scissorhands, Michael Jackson, and Gene Simmons, as well as pirates, headless creatures, zombies, and people you THINK are mannequins, but suddenly come to life. I would love to give kudos to the family that shares their yard and creativity, but I admit that after visiting the "Boo House" three or four years so far, I don't know their name! Shame on me. Each year it gets better and more crowded as the word spreads.

While at the Boo House, we ran into cousins Wes and Trinette who told us to be sure to stop at the haunted house on their lane, which is just down the road from our house. Earlier at Kukui Grove, Jordan had been disappointed to find that their haunted house had closed just minutes before we arrived, so it was perfect to find this "substitute" right in our own neighborhood! Again, I wish I had asked this family's name also because they did a fantastic job. [Well hey, it's not like I'm a news reporter. I don't go about my day thinking I'm going to need names to write in my blog *LOL*] Anyway, they did a terrific job just using their garage and a lot of tarp and plastic sheeting to section it off into small spooky rooms and hallways. They even handed out 3D glasses for viewing very cool 3D displays along the route. Very very impressive!

Health tip for the week..somewhat related to the Halloween theme since it's about....err...nighttime:

Check out this article about the importance of sleep and how to optimize your sleep time: Leonard recently had a change in work scheduling and has to wake up at 4 a.m. He and I are both nightowls--after all, I suspect we're together for 35 years because we both love staying up late. At our age, however, we have to acknowledge that perhaps getting to bed earlier is to our advantage--we need all the help we can get! From what I've heard from various sources (Dr. Oz, Dr. Mercola, our Ayurvedic Dr. Suhas, etc.), getting 6 hours from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. is much healthier than sleeping 6 hours from 12 midnight to 6 a.m. Read this excellent article to see why and for valuable tips on how to get the best sleep.

Speaking of which, I should be sleeping right now!

Pigs, Cattle, and Fall TV

2010-10-07T00:19:00.002-10:00

Gratuitous stock photo of pork loin.

This may not be my healthiest recommendation, but last night I roasted a small pork loin from Costco (Swift Premium Chili Lime Marinated). YUM! It was so simple to do (just open the bag and plop it on a foil-lined baking pan and bake for 40 minutes (depending on the weight). It was very tasty, juicy, and so tenderlicious!! Pork loins are relatively low in fat compared to other pork or beef roasts, so hey, enjoy. We had baked sweet potatoes, green beans, and big salads (at least 6 ingredients, remember!) to alleviate the guilt factor. As for the economy factor, it was only $2.49/lb., which is amazing for something you just pop in the oven!

Temple Grandin and Claire Danes

After eating our pork dinner last night, I watched "Temple Grandin" which I'd rented from Blockbuster. [Oh please, I hope Blockbuster Kapaa doesn't ever close! Sure you can rent easily over the internet, but nothing beats browsing "real time" among the thousands of videos in the store!] I loved the movie, not just because it was about autism, but because Temple's story is so inspiring. I wonder if she's considered doing for pigs what she did for cattle? I certainly hope so! For those of you who don't know, she revolutionized the cattle industry by introducing more humane--and at the same time more efficient and economical--practices by integrating her genius and her autistic sensitivities. I wasn't a Claire Danes fan before, but now I understand why she won an Emmy for this role.

From touching and sensitive, we go to violent and stupid: I'm sorry, but Tuesday night’s "Hawaii Five-0 turned me off. The plots are so cheesy and ridiculously implausible for me. Gee, a team of only four (two of whom are "newbies" to the Hawaiian law scene) singlehandedly saving Hawaii every week from heavy duty mobsters–give me a break. It’s very corny to me, sorry. I really want to like this show because I try to support any series filmed in Hawaii, but last night’s episode was over the top. My god, even on the NY crime shows you never see a daytime shooting at a high school football game. What are the writers thinking anyway? Can we please have an ounce of believability here? Please? How about a bigger Five-0 team, or even some show of support from HPD instead of them arriving just as Danno's about to "book um"? And pssst, I don’t like the Steve McGarrett character or actor, but I do like the others, especially Scott Caan, who plays Danno. Apparently I'm not alone: Click here for a review in the Michigan Daily.

Let's go back to "sensitive": I recently read Dan Brown's "The Lost Symbol," which I enjoyed even more than "DaVinci Code" and "Angels and Demons" because it was more relevant for me. Not that I've been to Washington D.C., but its theme was spirituality and the founding of our country. One of the subplots involved "noetic science"--the study of the mind and intuition--which has always intrigued me (see my blogposts here and here for two lists of my own experiences).

Dr. Edgar Mitchell

One of the videotapes I rented from Blockbuster this past weekend was "Hunting the Lost Symbol," which was originally broadcast on the Discovery Channel in which they explore what was real and what was fiction in Dan Brown's book. In it they cite the Institute of Noetic Science (founded in 1973 by Apollo 14 astronaut Edgar Mitchell) on which Dan Brown bases his fictional Smithsonian counterpart and their very real studies which demonstrate the power of the mind. For instance, a subject placed in a room in front of a video camera showed measurable reactions when remotely sent "good thoughts" by a viewer. The subject had no idea when these "good vibes" would be sent, as the viewer only sent them intermittently when seeing him on a screen at random intervals. Finding they've had success with this experiment supports the effectiveness of prayer, remote healing (such as Reiki), etc. Very uplifting! Or scary, but I choose to be postive. This page lists other studies they're doing, and these are completed projects. Truly mind-boggling!

Lastly, here is a list of some of the Fall TV shows I've been watching and my ratings (* = bad, *** good):

The Good Wife *** (continues to be my favorite drama!)

The Middle *** (my favorite comedy! This family is so lovably quirky!)

Modern Family *** (another funny family!)

Dancing With the Stars * (I'm no Michael Bolton fan, but even the horrendous Kate Gosselin never got a 3! And Kurt Warner gets 8's?! I don't care for any of these "stars", thank goodness!)

Better With You ** (didn't intentionally watch this, but somehow the cast is really good!)

@*&! My Dad Says * (darn I wanted to like this)

The Event ** (Good grief, "3 hours earlier" "2 weeks earlier" "5 months earlier" gives your brain a workout! I don't think I'll be watching this for very long.)

Glee ** (Fun to see who guest stars)

Law & Order LA * (Go back to NEW YORK!!!! And please, no "at home" backstories, we just want the Law and the Order, not the Soap!!)

CSI's ** (Please stop with the creepy serial killers in jail, I hate those plots)

Desperate Housewives ** (I have a feeling this is their last season.)

Outsourced ** (Well you know I like Indians! They're fun!)

Big Bang *** (Big Fun!)

The Office ** (Uncomfortable Fun!)

As I'm trying to cut down on television viewing, I'm trying not to get attached to too many new shows. Yeh right.

Lovely Bones

2010-09-18T00:24:00.002-10:00

I am not an enthusiastic cook. Put it this way, we consistently eat at 7 p.m. or later because every day that I'm expected to cook, I procrastinate until the last minute as if by magic someone will appear at our door with a fully cooked meal. Hey, I'm not asking for much, I'll be glad to cook the rice. And this shows that I'm a hopeful and optimistic person, doesn't it? And it HAS happened--ok, so maybe only twice in my thirty odd years of cooking--but it's not totally impossible! Remember that rather annoying comedienne Judy Tenuta? Her line was "It can haaappen!"

This is the KitchenAid set from Costco.

So being an apathetic and reluctant cook, I was only vaguely aware that people used scissors in the kitchen until just a few years ago when I heard that there are many people who use scissors in the kitchen more than they use knives. When we saw a set at Costco for about $20, I figured it was a good opportunity to see what the fuss was about. I'm glad I did! Using kitchen shears means one less piece to wash because you don't need a cutting board so that's one less mess to clean up.

So what do I use the shears for? Have you discovered salmon bones yet? If not, check your market's fish department or better, go to Sam's Club Keeaumoku where they have salmon bones all the time--that is, they've had them every time we've checked for the past year or so. We're not crazy about salmon, necessarily, but we are crazy about salmon bones...especially if there's some skin attached. It's like a gift that salmon bones cost less than salmon fillets because they're so much more delicious!

Salmon bones are not just bones

So here's what I do when I get my salmon bones home: get out the nifty kitchen "cleaver" scissors and cut the salmon into smaller pieces depending on your preference. I cut mine about 3 inches wide. You'll be amazed at how easy it is to cut with these scissors, especially when you learn to cut between the vertebrae. If you don't have kitchen scissors, it's fairly easy with a knife also.

You can fry them, but broiled is best!

Put the salmon pieces in a stainless steel bowl and drizzle with olive oil, tossing the pieces to moisten evenly. You can then season the way you prefer. I use garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Place the pieces on a foil-lined baking pan or broiler pan and broil, watching closely. We like ours very brown and crispy. Turn the pieces over and broil the other side. You can also grill or fry them if you prefer. Not only are they delicious, but they're "good for ya"! Everyone knows by now that salmon oil is healthy oil and because they're crispy, you can eat most of the bones also---calcium!! So there you go, a healthy, delicious, and inexpensive dish that's good for either a week night dinner or weekend cook out. It may not be gourmet, but it's one of our favorites!

Gifts from Internet Friends

2010-08-30T11:47:00.026-10:00

One of the reasons I'm so addicted to the Internet is that I get so many fun and informative "gifts" from friends online:

Many years ago we used to watch a game show called "People Art" on Hawaii's Japanese TV station KIKU every New Year's. We enjoyed them so much we have a few on VHS tape (yes, that old). To my knowledge they no longer broadcast the show on KIKU so I'd forgotten about it. Recently Pennan Brae posted this video on Facebook while he was visiting Japan.

I recognized it immediately as the show I knew as "People Art" and that prompted me to email Dan Cronin, a friend in Japan, who led me to find more videos such as the "Top 15" skits below. There are many more if you search YouTube using the actual name of the show, "Kasou Taishou". Wouldn't it be great if the U.S. imported this idea in the same way they did those other silly Japanese game shows? At least this one celebrates creativity rather than sadism (eg. "Wipe Out"). Enjoy!

With all the hot weather we're having, beverage choice is a hot topic (pun intended). Also in my mailbox today was a forwarded email from Karen on Maui regarding water and Coke. I did not confirm every statement below, but I'd guess the majority are proven facts. (Let me know if you find out otherwise--especially about cleaning the Coke trucks--STICKY!)

I want to add that I'd just heard on the news a few days ago that a study found that test subjects who drank 2 cups of water before a meal lost 30% more weight than those who did not drink water before a meal. Click here to read about this study in detail.

WATER

#1. 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated.. (Likely applies to half the world population)

#2. In 37% of Americans, the thirst mechanism is so weak that it is mistaken for hunger.

#3. Even MILD dehydration will slow down one's metabolism as 3%.

#4. One glass of water will shut down midnight hunger pangs for almost 100% of the dieters studied in a University of Washington study.

#5. Lack of water, the #1 trigger of daytime fatigue.

#6. Preliminary research indicates that 8-10 glasses of water a day could significantly ease back and joint pain for up to 80% of sufferers.

#7. A mere 2% drop in body water can trigger fuzzy short-term memory, trouble with basic math, and difficulty focusing on the computer screen or on a printed page.

#8.. Drinking 5 glasses of water daily decreases the risk of colon cancer by 45%, plus it can slash the risk of breast cancer by 79%., and one is 50% less likely to develop bladder cancer. Are you drinking the amount of water you should drink every day?

COKE

#1. In many states the highway patrol carries two gallons of Coke in the trunk to remove blood from the highway after a car accident.

#2. You can put a T-bone steak in a bowl of Coke and it will be gone in two days.

#3. To clean a toilet: Pour a can of Coca-Cola into the toilet bowl and let the 'real thing' sit for one hour, then flush clean. The citric acid in Coke removes stains from vitreous china.

#4. To remove rust spots from chrome car bumpers: Rub the bumper with a rumpled-up piece of Reynolds Wrap aluminum foil dipped in Coca-Cola.

#5. To clean corrosion from car battery terminals: Pour a can of Coca-Cola over the terminals to bubble away the corrosion.

#6. To loosen a rusted bolt: Apply a cloth soaked in Coca-Cola to the rusted bolt for several minutes.

#7. To bake a moist ham: Empty a can of Coca-Cola into the baking pan, wrap the ham in aluminum foil, and bake. Thirty minutes before ham is finished, remove the foil, allowing the drippings to mix with the Coke for a sumptuous brown gravy.

#8. To remove grease from clothes: Empty a can of Coke into the load of greasy clothes, add detergent, and run through a regular cycle.. The Coca-Cola will help loosen grease stains. It will also clean road haze from your windshield.

FOR YOUR INFORMATION:

#1. The active ingredient in Coke is phosphoric acid. It will dissolve a nail in about four days. Phosphoric acid also leaches calcium from bones and is a major contributor to the rising increase of osteoporosis.

#2. To carry Coca-Cola syrup (the concentrate) the commercial trucks must use a hazardous Material place cards reserved for highly corrosive materials.

#3. The distributors of Coke have been using it to clean engines of the trucks for about 20 years!

Most of the statements above weren't new to me and I still drink colas despite having been diagnosed with osteoporosis, but I limit myself to 1-2 a week. I'm not worried about putting the soda companies out of business because they have wisely diversified and produce a multitude of beverage choices--including bottled WATER!

Incidentally, watermelon is a very healthly way of cooling off because it has powerful antioxidants and is anti-inflammatory, and when you first bite into a slice, I swear it's like jumping into a swimming pool! My motto this summer is "Who needs a swimming pool, I've got watermelon!" Well, the truth is I would love to have a swimming pool, but can only afford a watermelon. *LOL*

Speaking of saving money again, Costco has a good deal on antibacterial hand sanitizing gel: $2.49 for a huge bottle (40 oz)! I have a lot of small empty plastic bottles so I filled three of them up and now each of us has one for our purse/backpack/lunchbox.   Considering you'd pay about a dollar for one of those little bottles of hand sanitizer (about a half oz.), this $2.49 is an incredible bargain!

Consider yourself "gifted"!
P.S. Please, this is NOT an invitation to send me more forwarded emails! *LOL*

Pennan Brae's Co-star in Music Video

2010-08-21T15:42:00.001-10:00

How many of you can say you appeared in a music video? Well I can't, but I'll bet none of you had your keyboard appear in one (unless you're the musician, of course)! I'd like to think our keyboard will become a star, but I suppose Vancouver's pop/rock singer-songwriter Pennan Brae is far more deserving. And I'll admit that Kauai as a backdrop and the video babe both outshined our keyboard, but being the fourth star in the beautifully performed and produced video is pretty darned cool.

It began with a Craigslist ad I placed several months ago. I had to renew it a couple of times without anyone inquiring about it. As usual, I suddenly got three different inquiries within a few weeks and thankfully Rob Osmond (aka Pennan Brae) ended up with "Cassie". [Yes, you read correctly, years ago Jordan affectionately named the keyboard "Cassie."] Rob needed a keyboard to use in his music video that could easily be carried to the various locations they'd planned to shoot in and as you can see in the video, was "expendable" since it was subjected to the elements and Kauai's great outdoors. Hmmm, Cassie got to go places I've never been myself!

Anyway, take a look and enjoy the scenery, performance, and the beautiful song! If you're in Vancouver, B.C. someday, you may be able to catch a performance. Check out Pennan Brae's website: http://www.pennanbrae.com/

And if you're wondering what became of Cassie, well she was donated in good working order to a thrift store somewhere on the Westside, and hopefully went to yet another loving and talented musician.

Adult Summer Fun

2010-08-07T23:46:00.001-10:00

I haven't posted for several weeks because I've been busy with "adult summer fun." Like at the kids' summer fun programs I used to attend when I was in school, I did some arts & crafts work (which I sold at the Koloa Plantation Days), I danced (at bon dances), and socialized and played games (at two reunions). I'm sure you're doing the summer fun thing too!

First of all, the Koloa Plantation Days parade and fair continues to improve each year. For just a $2 admission, people enjoyed continuous entertainment from such performers as Amy Hanaiali'i, Frank DeLima, and Augie T. Happily, the craft tent business was much better than last year, hopefully a good sign that the economy is recovering.

There is no sign more clear that time is flying by than going to a bon dance. It seems like just a month ago I was dancing at Waimea's Higashi Hongwanji bon dance and yet there we were again. Kind of freaky, I must say. I must apologize for Jordan's overly zealous videotaping the Iwakuni with her iPod. I was blissfully unaware that she had climbed up the tower steps because I was in the "audience" on the opposite side of the tower. And you thought bon dance singers didn't have paparazzi!

Hubby's Waimea High's Class of '67 had a weekend full of fun activities: a golf tournament, cookout, dinner, and Napali boat riding. This class is lucky to have members who seem to enjoy planning frequent reunions--it seems like once every 1-2 years--even their planning meetings are fun! For instance, this latest reunion wasn't for a particular decade or half-decade or even milestone birthday. It was their 43rd year reunion. On the other hand, my own Kaimuki High class only has reunions every ten years. A lot of gray hair and flab can happen in ten years, not to mention wrinkles. Having more frequent reunions means you're more apt to recognize your classmates!

The other reunion we went to was our Tachibana family reunion and I was able to enjoy it this time, since I was not in charge (Great job Joanne and team!). It was held at the Tokai University, catered by Karen's Catering, who did an excellent job--yummm!

My contribution was to update the DVD slideshow I made for the first reunion five years ago. "Update? No problem!" Naturally it was more difficult and stressful than I'd anticipated, so I wanted to celebrate when I finished burning it on the third day. Oops, as I watched it I found a couple of mistakes. Ok, the second version was burning, now I could celebrate! Uh oh, I see another mistake. As you may have guessed, I didn't get to celebrate (or go to bed) until 3 a.m. after several more revisions. A friend later told me I should make DVD's as a business and I said "Noooo thanks!!" Then she said she once paid $500 for a graduation DVD for her son. I think I'll reconsider.

Photo slideshows can be very boring, so I took a lesson from the Waimea '67 reunion and let the slideshow run quietly on the side while people arrived and socialized, and throughout the meal. That way people who were interested could enjoy it while others talked story.

We had a couple of fun games, introduced as "Have you seen the show 'Minute to Win It'? Yeh? Well this is nothing like that!" *LOL* I guess it was more like "Six Minutes to Win It''. At any rate, we had fun and our team, which was the smallest, excelled at using chopsticks to pick up M&M's and shooting cans with rubberbands, so we won first place! Woohooo!

The best part about both reunions was listening to stories. It amazes me how some people have such sharp memories of incidents of the past. Unfortunately for us babyboomers with poor memories, there were no video cameras, camera phones, etc. We did, however, have Kodak brownies then instamatics, and oh yeh, Polaroids! I envy the young generation who'll have their personal and family histories well documented with video (eg. Jordan with her videotaping iPod). On the other hand, there'll be hard evidence that you sucked at rubberband shooting.

"Then You Take Your Dollah..."

2010-07-13T13:38:00.000-10:00

If you recall a few posts back, I shared a bargain I found on eBay for iPod accessories. [There should be a law against tHese tYpes of wOrds, and what happens if they're at the start of a sentence?] Well that same eBay seller has a great deal on mini flashlights.

I don't know exactly why, but I love mini flashlights. I dunno, maybe they give me this sense of power or security to have them in my purse. The mini's I ordered, however, are not as tiny as I prefer--they're over 3 inches long--and they take THREE AAA batteries, but wow, they are powerful with 9 LED bulbs. They're awesome to have for power outages because one of these little guys can light up a room better than a conventional flashlight.

Ready for the price? $6.99 for 5! The batteries cost more than the flashlights themselves. And hello....SHIPPING IS INCLUDED....and they arrived in FOUR DAYS counting Sunday!!!

Okay, as I promised earlier, here are more money-saving tips. Keep in mind that I try to list suggestions I came across on my own, not just copying off other lists. For more ideas you can probably google "money-saving ideas."

1) Whenever we go to Honolulu, we rent a car. I reserve something as soon as possible because I learned the hard way last Christmas that you can't always count on finding the "usual" prices even two months ahead sometimes. The great thing about reserving a car is that you can always cancel it (and please have the courtesy to do so). So okay, you reserve the car early, but a week or two before your trip, look for a better deal. If you're willing to pay in advance, you can find super good deals such as $11 a day at Priceline for a major rental agency (Alamo, Avis, etc.).

2) I don't like using laundry softeners too much because it makes towels less absorbent plus we don't care for too much scent. I found that cutting dryer sheets in half or even thirds will still cut down on static cling plus save you money!

3) My mom, sister, and I are loyal long-time Long's customers. I was sad, of course, when CVS took over, but now--not so much. Why, you ask? Because I've discovered--ok my mom discovered--the wonders of the CVS card.   It's free, of course, but I usually balk at getting yet another card. They've redeemed themselves by immediately giving me a $4 off $20 coupon, then a fifty cents coupon within just two visits.

4) Doublecheck this one because I bought them over a year ago, but Kukui Grove Cinemas gives a little bonus with the gift certificate tickets you buy.  You pay $8--the regular price--for a gift ticket and the user gets a free small popcorn. If you buy these in advance and use them yourself, you save on popcorn! (Okay I don't want to hear "But I gotta have a LARGE!" Didn't you hear how bad that stuff is for your health? Pssst, get the free small and buy another small or medium...you still save!)

5) This saves on electricity/gas: Don't believe the instructions on the pasta box. You don't have to boil the pasta for 9 minutes or whatever. I just boil pasta for a couple of minutes then turn it off and cover for 5-10 minutes (check occasionally so they don't get soft).

As Ellen says, "You're welcome!"

I want to add that it's great and even fun to figure out ways to save money, BUT please don't go overboard to the "point of no class". This means no mooching, no ziploc bags on the buffet line, and no stealing toilet paper from public toilets (or 20 bags of catsup from McD's, etc.).  Besides, haven't you learned anything from watching "True Beauty"? Do not dishonor your fellow penny-pinchers!

Drive-In Movie Bento Night

2010-07-06T17:57:00.000-10:00

To celebrate July 4th, we did something nostalgic: We went to a drive-in with our bento dinner. Remember those days? Waialae Drive In Theater was our family's favorite. The best part was going in our pajamas. I wish I could remember at what age I stopped wearing pajamas to the drive-in. Ok I'm kidding, the best part was my mom's bentos. So very simple, but so delicious: musubi, fried rolled eggs, spam or vienna sausages, potato salad, celery/carrot sticks, etc. Usually something like teriyaki or chicken, but the aforementioned were the staples.

You're saying, "Waaait a minute! First of all Hawaii doesn't have any more drive-in theaters and Kauai never had any! How could you go to a drive-in theater on the 4th?" Ok so it wasn't exactly a theater, but like a drive-in theater, it WAS a parking lot (Ace Hardware's) and there WAS a performance: the "Concert in the Sky" fireworks show. And, there was bento!

Perhaps because of the recession, the parking lot was more crowded than ever before, full of people who didn't want to pay the $10 entrance fee to the nearby Vidinha Stadium. It's not that we're cheap (well ok maybe we are--see blog post below), but honestly, we just didn't care to deal with the parking issue, walking to the field, possible rain, etc. This way we could simply sit in our car, eat our dinner, and enjoy, then easily drive off as soon as the show ended. [Ok everyone who did the "freebie" route like we did, please make a donation to Kauai Hospice!]

I made a LOT of musubis because they're my favorite part of the meal. If that's all there was I'd still be happy! They have to be almost fully covered with nori, of course, and have an ume in the center. Tuna mixed with mayo/salt/pepper is also a delicious filling--try it if you haven't. My second favorite part of a homemade bento is the egg omelet roll:

3 large eggs
1/2 t. Bragg's or soy sauce
1/2 t. sugar
1/8 t. salt
1/8 t. pepper
1/4 c. minced chives and/or green onions
1/2 c. tuna (optional)

Mix eggs with seasonings. Read the following carefully for best results:

If using a 12" pan, 3 eggs should make a nice thin layer. If using a smaller pan, you'll be able to make 2 omelets. Heat the oiled frying pan and pour enough egg to form a thin layer covering the whole pan. You're going to roll the egg, so determine which is your starting edge ("front half"). Immediately lower the heat and work fast. (You don't want the egg to cook too fast, especially on the "back" half of the pan.) I move the pan so that the back half of the pan is off the burner and cooks more slowly than the front half. Working quickly, sprinkle the green onions/chives all over the egg except for the very back edges. Sprinkle tuna. When front end is firm enough, start rolling, carefully loosening the egg from the pan with a spatula. You'll probably need two spatulas if using a 12" pan to properly roll the omelet. Hopefully when you reach the end of your roll the egg on that back edge will still be a little "tacky" so it will stick and seal the roll. Remove the roll from the pan and cool. Slice diagonally about 3/4 " wide or as desired.

Rather than make the usual potato salad, I used Okinawan sweet potatoes to make a simple salad. I guess the demand for these potatoes went up--Costco now sells them in a box--because supposedly they're the secret to longevity in Okinawa. I don't really have a recipe, but more or less this is what I used and it turned out pretty good:

3 medium sweet potatoes (cooked in the microwave for about 8 minutes, but test with a toothpick. I then place a stainless steel bowl--or foil--over them to steam a bit more for a few minutes. Cut into cubes and then cool in the refrigerator.)

3 T. mayonnaise

1/4 t. pepper

1/2 t. salt

1 t. vinegar (I use Bragg's Apple Cider Vinegar)

1/2 t. sugar

1/4 c. minced onions

1/2 c. minced celery

Because potato sizes vary, you may have to modify measurements. We don't like too much mayo in ours.

We also had some of Foodland's fried chicken (yum!!) and that was pretty much it! Not the healthiest meal, but not the worst, either.

The weather was great and the fireworks were beautiful. If only we could've worn pajamas it would've been even more perfect!

You Save Fifty Cents Here...

2010-06-28T23:22:00.001-10:00

Looks like this recession is trickling up now. In the past week I've seen two instances of this effect. In case you're wondering what I'm referring to by trickling UP, it means the first part of the recession affected the working man and consequently because of him spending less, businesses either went under or were forced to cut back, thus now impacting the b2b's (businesses that service other businesses) who survived in 2009.

But hey, I only took Economics 101 so what do I know...especially since that was way back when UH tuition was cheap and the campus was well maintained. What I do know is that people are still losing jobs and if there had been course in Money Conservation at the UH, I would've been at the 404 level!

So off the top of my head, here are a few suggestions for penny-pinching. There are also tips on conservation and health, too...

1) I've mentioned this before: BUDGET Basic Cable. You really don't need "Basic" Cable for almost $50/month when there's $13/month Budget Basic (we get about 30 stations--more than enough!).

2) No shame...you don't have to buy fancy Tupperware. I've been called "Miss Cool Whip Container" and look, this means my ecological "footprint" is that much smaller. If you can't use all of the containers, recycle the #1's and #2's OR drop them off at a school or daycare OR sell or give them away at your garage sale.

3) Buy vitamin and herbal supplements online. Even with shipping it's cheaper than shopping at the stores PLUS the supplements are generally higher quality. I just ran out of calcium and went to Walmart. Not only were their calcium supplements (all brands!) more expensive, they had a multitude of "bad" ingredients (fillers, preservatives, etc.). I couldn't bring myself to buy any of them! Incidentally, my favorite shampoo, Jason Natural Tea Tree Oil Scalp Normalizing Shampoo, which sells at stores for over $9, is just $4.55 at Swansonhealth.com!

4) Turning off power bars does save a few dollars a month! If you can't turn off the whole bar, unplug those chargers at least. I unplug our modem and router every night too. You'll be pleasantly surprised to see your electric bill showing a difference.

5) If you've got a tissue hog in your household, try buying single-ply toilet tissue. Usually Safeway has the best price on this.

6) Rather than buying new books, go to the library. If you can't bring yourself to do this, go to Amazon.com and buy used books--as well as DVD's and CD's. You'll save---again, even with the shipping added! There are bestsellers for just a penny each! (Shipping=$3.99)

7) Something I just started doing is recycling water. You could buy a contraption from Costco for saving rainwater from your gutters to water your yard, but I do this on a smaller scale by just catching rinsewater from vegetable washing or other "clean" rinsing in a bowl and transferring it into a plastic gallon bottle to use later for soaking dirty dishes or watering the few plants I bother to water. (Growing vegetables is a great way to save money, but I did not inherit that skill from my dad, unfortunately).

8) I make healthy "snack bags" for Jordan's lunch bag instead of sending chips/cookies, etc. Costco's selling an excellent beef jerky (Pacific Gold) which uses no preservatives or HFCS (high fructose corn syrup). Cut them up into small pieces, add nuts (preferably raw/unsalted), raisins or other dried fruit cut up (I use mango, cherries, dates, or blueberries), Mini Wheats cereal pieces, chocolate chips, a few potato sticks or rice crackers. It's fun to make these bags and you can totally control the ingredients--use your imagination! Make sure to buy the ingredients on sale or by bulk. By the way, I also put these same ingredients in a small bowl for myself to snack on during the day.

9) Home lunches--or brownbagging--is another obvious money-saver. Have you tried banana/peanut butter/jelly sandwiches? Use whole wheat bread and sprinkle some cinnamon on the bananas and you're getting even more health benefits!

When you make your dinner salad, just make a bit more for your lunch the next day to save time. Leonard's naturopathic doc, Dr. Ancharsky, recommends at least 6 ingredients for your salads. Typically I use spinach, lettuce, cilantro, red cabbage, sweet peppers, celery, brocco sprouts, carrots, tomatoes and/or cucumbers. For kick, add some jalapeno peppers or artichoke hearts. Top with tuna or chicken or how about salsa and cheese for a Mexican salad?

Instead of sandwiches, try a wrap. You'll get less calories this way and you're able to load more healthy fillings. Costco sells a flat bread in an oblong shape that's ideal for wrapping. Jordan likes Mexican wraps (similar to a burrito with refried beans, tomatoes, lettuce, sweet peppers, salsa), but again, anything goes and they're easier to eat than a sandwich, too.

10) Lastly, ladies--ahem-- if you place them carefully, you can cut your pantyliner bill in half if you cut your pantyliners in half! Hint: Kotex Longs. Hey, you might think "Awww, it only costs $1.29 a box!" but remember the saying "If you take care of the pennies, the dollars will take care of themselves!" And what about Russell Peter's Chinese shop guy? "You save fitty cent here, then you go to another shop, save another fitty cent... then you got a DOL-LAH...then you go to the Dollah store and buy yourself something else!" (video below).

I know I have more ways to save money while keeping healthy, but these are the ten I came up with today. I'll add more later! Don't forget.. Russell Peters will be at the Blaisdell Concert Hall on Nov. 27!

Releasing Our Kraken

2010-06-14T16:24:00.005-10:00

I thought I'd just write a quicky to say that I saw Sex and the City 2 and enjoyed it. I would write more in its defense, but someone already did, so why waste my time? All I want to say is that despite the bad reviews (most critics are male, btw), I think of SATC as entertainment and escapism and frankly, I preferred this second movie to the first, except for the absence of Gilles Marini. My favorite scene was the gay wedding with Liza Minnelli. My favorite guy in this movie (besides Mr. Big, of course), was the Indian butler played by Raza Jaffrey and I got a chuckle reading about how he's being stopped on the street these days and praised for how he stirred Carrie's hot milk. OMG, that sounds a bit suggestive, but believe me, it's totally just a tender scene. I've read the critical reviews and heck, we women are just as entitled to mindless fluff as men are entitled to theirs: "Release the KRAKEN!!!" (I've always wanted to say that!). Our Kraken is surely Samantha during her hot flashes. (Sorry for the finger photo, but it pretty much represents Samantha as a Kraken, after all!)

So please, go and see the movie and don't be put off by critics and even if you've seen the pirated version online, go see it on the big screen, where you can actually hear the jokes and not be confused by extraneous noises while the movie was being videotaped in the theater. [It actually happened twice I watched the pirated version online. I heard a cough in a quiet scene and thought someone else was in Carrie's room, then later a cell phone rang and I wondered why no one in the movie was picking up. *LOL*]

On to books! If anyone has suggestions for a good book for me to read that does not involve raping/murdering, excessive violence or excessive romance, please leave a message in the Comments. I notice I'm becoming more picky about what I read and have been leaving a lot of books unfinished lately. Maybe because as I get older, I know I have less and less time to waste on 1) overly flowery prose (Dean Koontz cannot let a man simply walk down a street without describing each bush), 2) predictable plots (of course the cute guy will end up loving the homely girl then her cheating bf will try to get her back), and 3) overused phrases (such as Stephanie Plum constantly "blowing out a sigh").

I still enjoy Maeve Binchy, but I've read all of her books. I enjoy Maeve's plots that involve multiple characters so I also loved "Pillars of the Earth" and "A World Without End," except I don't care for the violent war scenes. I'm now discovering "discovery" thrillers and currently reading Douglas Preston's "Tyrannosaurus Canyon" and "Almost Adam" by Petru Popescu. Just in case I don't finish them, however, I also have "Sein Language" by Jerry Seinfeld, and Dave Barry's "Boogers Are My Beat" (Uh oh...but you have to admit, that's neither overused nor predictable!) standing by. I just pray there are no Kraken-sized boogers in that book!!

Selflessly Sacrificing My Bejewled Blitz Time

2010-06-04T12:01:00.008-10:00

At least I donate blood. There are times I feel guilty when I read or hear about people who do so much: they work fulltime, raising five kids, and yet have time to keep fit as well as do volunteer work. As they say, if you want something done, give it to a busy person. Shame on me, I have a flexible schedule working at home and yet I don't do volunteer work and "keeping fit" means bouncing my BodyBlade six minutes a day. I count vacuuming as part of my exercise time---ok so that adds another whole ten minutes a week, wheeee!

So to help alleviate my guilt, I donate blood a couple times a year and write this blog. I have very small veins, so hey, it's a big deal to get gouged and bruised twice a year. [I've learned, however, to ask for the "expert" and 99% of the time they're able to hit the mark on their first try---thank goodness.]

As for my other public service obligation, here are some of the latest tips I'd like to share:

1) If you're worried about home invasions, today I received an email that suggests using your car remote's horn button as a security device. Leave your car keys by your bed at night and if you hear a suspicious noise outside or someone breaking into your house, hit the horn button on the remote to start your horn beeping. Chances are the burglar won't stick around to see if anyone in the neighborhood noticed the annoying blaring in the middle of the night. Additionally, when you're out, be sure to carry your remote car keys in your hand while walking to your parked car to use as an alarm if you're threatened.

2) The latest quick tips gleaned from Dr. Oz's shows and Dr. Mercola's site:

Choose salmon over tuna, and smaller/younger fish (sardines, iriko) over bigger/older fish to lessen your mercury exposure.
Eat these foods for longevity: jicama, kale, sweet potatoes (esp. the purple ones!), teff, amaranth, millet, mangos, dates, and apples (organic if possible).
Interesting and hopeful news: the AMA (American Medical Association) Journal will have a regular feature looking into the massive overuse of medication and treatments that patients don't need. Hel-lo!? Is the Medical world finally acknowledging what the Naturopathic world has been saying all along? The 2012 Paradigm Shift is going to happen, I tell you!

3) Hopefully you recycle plastics, whether or not you get paid. Don't forget that besides the usual juice, shampoo, and vitamin bottles, you can also toss into the plastic bin any container with the #1 and #2 symbol, such as those big rectangular containers from Costco that you get vegetables or baked goods in, tofu containers, or those ridiculously hard-to-open blister packs that batteries and electronic devices are sold in. I'm telling you this because I only recently realized these are recyclable...duh!!

4) News Flash!! Ok, so it's old news from a few months ago, but I just heard that finally Stephanie Plum will be immortalized on film!! Although I've been hoping for years for a Plum television series, I heard today that Janet Evanovich's beloved Jersey Girl, Stephanie the Bounty Hunter, will be played by Katherine Heigl in "One For the Money," based on the first Stephanie Plum book (there are now sixteen plus a few "in betweens"). I'm not so thrilled with Katherine Heigl getting the part, but will reserve judgment until after the movie comes out. Stephanie's fans, from what I see on various message boards, are not happy with her casting either. We'll soon find out if Heigl can act or not. Meanwhile, the casting of Ranger is oh-so-perfect in Daniel Sunjata (on the left) who appeared in a Sex and the City episode as a sailor. Wow, I was hoping I'd see him again! Morelli will be played by Jason O'Mara. The big question now is who will play Grandma Mazur and Lula? Showing my age, I always picture Estelle Getty "Golden Girls" and Jackee Harry (see photo below) "227"--I swear she IS Lula--when I read the books. I also imagined Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as Ranger and Chris Noth as Morelli. Oddly, I could never picture Stephanie, but someone mentioned Debra Messing and yeh, she plays "bungling" well. Unfortunately these actors are all too old--or in Ms. Getty's case, gone--for the parts.

Ok, I've done my good deed so now I can go back to Bejeweled Blitz. Oh shoots I just remembered I have a report due...oh yeh, Monday....hmmmm....lots of time. Hey, at least I give blood!

For Your Entertainment

2010-05-22T01:01:00.008-10:00

I may be a latecomer and you may already know about the following, but they're just too good not to mention:

1) Stieg Larrson--"The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," "The Girl Who Played With Fire," and "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest"--is my current favorite author. After reading Tess Gerritsen's books and other similar "female murder victim" books (see my "Cake and Blood" blogpost), I decided to boycott such novels. I have a big bag of books from friends/relatives and as I weeded out the offensive books, I was left with "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo." I read the synopsis on the back and seeing reference to a missing girl, I was about to set it aside, but heck, it was the last book left AND it was set in Sweden! I really like Sweden and Swedes and decided to make an exception so I could "travel" to Sweden at last.

Wow, I'm very glad I didn't toss out this book. It had me up until the wee hours in bed with my little book light. It's a suspenseful, oh-so-satisfying read with all the elements of the perfect thriller. I love the mystery, strength and genius of the Girl (Lisbeth Salander) and the integrity and steadfastness of Mikael Blomkvist, the journalist who is the main male character (he could be Stieg Larrson himself from what little I know of him). I just finished the second book of the trilogy but will take my time getting the third, since sadly, that's all there is and will be. *sniff*

Stieg Larrson, a magazine editor, wrote the three books in his spare time then died suddenly of a heart attack just before they were published. According to Martha Woodroof of NPR, Larrson was a "crusading anti-fascist journalist who was passionate in his support of anyone being victimized." I can't tell you how sad I feel that he didn't live to see his books become bestsellers, then subsequently made into movies in Sweden. (There are plans for an American movie.) Not only is it a huge loss of a great novelist and a courageous journalist, but he was born in 1954 so he was my "classmate," so to speak.

2) Russell Peters--is an Anglo-Indian comedian from Canada. Look for him on Comedy Central or YouTube. Funnnnnny! It was given that I'd like him because I like Bollywood, Indians, and the Indian accent, but Leonard really enjoyed his comedy too. His comedy is based mostly on the different races, similar to Hawaii's Andy Bumatai and Frank DeLima. Check him out!

3) I doubt I have to tell you that the new Sex and the City movie will be released next week, but I just found out that Liza Minnelli is making a cameo appearance singing, of all things, Beyonce's "Single Ladies." Too funny!! I've been a fan of Liza's since the 70's and "Cabaret." I was lucky enough to see her twice in concert and she was amazing. Although I read some disparaging remarks about her singing "Single Ladies," I heard it and loved it as simply something fun. It's not as though she recorded it as a single, hoping to get on the charts, after all. Before you go to hear her on this page, be forewarned if you want to know NOTHING about the movie because there's a small spoiler (I don't consider it a big deal really) that explains what she was doing in the movie.

Speaking of SATC, if you're in Vegas and enjoy slot machines, be sure to look for the SATC penny video slot machines. I played them at the Fremont and at Fitzgerald's. What I loved were the fun bonuses and video snippets from the show! Be prepared, however, to spend some money. You might put in $20 and hit no bonuses and poof! your twenty is gone in three minutes. On the other hand, when you do hit a bonus it's SATC heaven: depending on the bonus, you get to look at shoes, bags, dresses, wedding gifts, see your favorite characters, etc. In one of my sessions, I started hitting bonuses immediately and walked away with $150 after almost an hour. Even better, I sat next to a fellow SATC fan and we enjoyed each other's bonuses, cheering noisily (well ok, you know me, I'm not noisy, but she made me chant "Mr. Big, Mr. Big, Mr. Big!" whenever one of us got a wheel spin.) Check out this photo I found, by the way...hmm that guy looks familiar...and if you want to see a video of the slot machine itself, along with Chris Noth introducing it, click here.

I hope at least one of the above entertains you! You deserve it!

Ski Thingy Works!

2010-05-13T16:04:00.001-10:00

A few posts back I wrote about the Bodyblade I bought from ShopNBC for around $80 ($69 plus shipping, tax). Well don't look for before/after pics of me, but I want to report that it seems to be working! I haven't been using it diligently--not surprising for me--but maybe 5-10 minutes 5 out of 7 days a week for the past couple of months. Ok, ok, closer to 5 than 10 minutes, I admit it! The good news is that my jelly belly has flattened a bit (please don't look because the jelly's still there) and my balance has improved. For the first time ever, my Wii Fit age was 11 years younger than my actual age after taking the weight and balance tests. My Wii (Un)Fit age was never that low! What's more, I pigged out in Vegas and didn't gain any weight! Woohoo!

At this point of my life I don't really care about a flat stomach except that a fat one is very unhealthy, but I am concerned with building core strength and balance. I've been diagnosed to have osteoporosis and refuse to take Fosamax, Boniva, etc. The thousands of patients who complained of bad side effects on AskaPatient.com scare the heck out of me and besides, Dr. Leia Melead, my naturopathic doc, warned me against them 6 years ago! In fact, just a couple of months ago, a new frightening side effect was uncovered by ABC News: spontaneous femur fractures. The femur is normally the strongest bone in the human body and yet there are increasing incidents of women who have been taking biphosphonate drugs (Fosamax, Boniva, Actonel, etc.) fracturing their thigh bones with little cause (i.e. low impact actions such as stepping over things, walking down stairs, etc.). This is on top of other known side effects such as jaw bone necrosis, severe joint/muscle pain, heart problems, etc. I sure hope Sally Field doesn't try to jump rope!

So getting back to my original subject, I would recommend trying the Bodyblade, especially if you're not as lazy as I am (which in all probability you're not). It's really easy to use and appears to be effective even with minimal use. After searching the internet, ShopNBC seems to have the best deal and it arrives within a few days if they have it in stock. Meanwhile, I'll keep you posted as I continue to use my "ski thingy".

Nice and Easy...and Free!

2010-05-07T23:33:00.002-10:00

I've got another public service announcement that may save you a lot of frustration if you're trying to put videos on a DVD. It could've saved me about 8 hours if I found it earlier. My problem is that I don't give up quickly enough when something's not working. I refuse to believe something won't do what it should do and stubbornly I keep trying. I think I have too much faith in my fellow human beans...in this case program writers. It's amazing that I don't suffer from high blood pressure, but then I do have a lot of white hair (thank goodness for Nice and Messy--I mean Nice and Easy). Finally after three days of struggling with my converter program and Windows DVD Maker (grrrr!) I googled "Best way to make DVD from mov files" and found a couple of YouTube videos about DVD Flick. This DVD program should be called "Nice and Easy" and it's FREE!

If you own a digital camera or iPod that produces video files that are not compatible with Windows DVD Maker (grrrr), go and download a program called DVD Flick. If you need a tutorial, check this YouTube video or even this one. Isn't it ridiculous that Microsoft's DVD Maker program--at least the one I have on this laptop with Vista--won't convert files for us!? What are we paying them for anyway? And get this, DVD Flick is FREE (I donated $10 at their site, but it's purely optional).

Speaking of free "open source" programs, I also use and love Open Office instead of Microsoft Office. Uh oh, I hope Bill Gates isn't reading my blog. (Please no snickering!). I also threw away my Norton's and have been using Avast for the past five years or so. When searching for free programs, make sure you check their reviews or that they come recommended from a reliable source...unless, of course, you're so mentally fatigued from converting files that keep getting rejected by Microsoft that your hair turns white that you're willing to take advice from some guy called "gunflintwoodshop" on YouTube. *LOOOOOL*

P.S. And be nice and donate to these free sites!

Things That Make You Go "What?!"

2010-05-02T17:09:00.003-10:00

First of all, I've gotta tell someone about the great deal I found on eBay and hopefully one of you can benefit. I'm sure thousands of people have purchased the iPod Nano 5th generation because Costco's got it featured right at their entrance for months. We bought one for Jordan for her birthday. The deal I found is an accessory pack from RDStore on eBay. OMG!!! For $9.99 plus $3 shipping, we got a ridiculous 22-piece set of iPod covers (leather, silicone skins, hard clear plastic--about 10 in all?), USB cord with nifty retractable device, car charger, AC charger, 2 screen protectors, earphones, earphone SPLITTER (so two people can listen at once!), armband that fits some of the covers, and wriststrap. Seriously, now Leonard wants an iPod and is using this set as his excuse, "Hey, why waste all those covers?!" The quality is good, by the way. Ordinarily you'd pay about $15 for a leather case alone at a retail store, or the same for a charger. Even if you don't have a Nano 5th generation, check out the RDStore for other values. Nope, I don't get commission.

Next I want to give you some good news from Dr. Mercola (usually the bearer of bad health news). According to this article, pharmaceutical drug trials are inadvertently revealing a phenomenon: We may not need pharmaceutical drugs! They've been finding the placebos becoming more and more effective. In other words, more and more patients than ever are healing themselves taking a sugar pill, thinking they're taking the real thing. This made me laugh---score one for natural healing!

Speaking of things unexplained, Jordan has been to Vegas just twice and twice she spun the $1000 on the Wheel of Fortune (both times on the first night!). Meanwhile I've been playing slot machines for over 30 years and the most I've won at one pull was $750. I wonder if slot machines are like our bodies? Probably Jordan believes she can win so she does and I subconsciously don't believe I can win so I don't? I guess my placebo frogs and clover keyring aren't working?! *LOL*

By the way, check out the Society of Seven and Jasmine Trias at the Gold Coast. We enjoyed their show. It was reasonably priced plus we got "upgraded" to a better table just minutes before the show. This was about the fifth time I've been to see SOS and they're always entertaining. Seeing Jasmine perform was a bonus. She's really grown as a performer since her AI days!

Lastly, I would like to give this public service suggestion: Snopes.com. I get forwarded emails every day and have learned to check Snopes.com to confirm even those emails which state "confirmed by Snopes". Or if you don't believe Snopes, there are other sites which investigate the astounding "facts" we learn every day online. The reason I'm telling you this is because not only are we doing a disservice to others by perpetuating false info, but I find myself wanting to tell the sender that the info is false. I often do tell them, but in some cases I hesitate because I hate to burst their bubble. Take for instance the email about treating heart attacks by coughing. I was happy that the sender cared enough to send me that information, but when I checked Snopes and another source, found that the info was wrong and may harm instead of help. I debated whether or not to inform the sender, because maybe next time he won't send me helpful information. Of course I had to let him know since I didn't want him to use false information.

So please check everything you find online that seems too wonderful to be true. Sometimes it IS true, sometimes it's partly true, and sometimes just plain old wrong. By the way, the bar of soap in your sheets does work to prevent leg cramps!

Releasing that April 15th Anger

2010-04-18T18:33:00.002-10:00

There are a lot of angry people out there and that's no surprise, given the state of the economy. One of the biggest complaints, according to what I've seen in the media, is that we pay too much taxes. As I consider myself a pro when it comes to rationalizing to make myself feel better, these are my thoughts on the subject:

Before I say anything further, promise me you won't stop reading until you get to the end. Give yourself a chance and you might feel better at the end, who knows? Anything that takes some anger/stress away is certainly worth a couple of minutes.

One thing people say regarding taxes is, "I work hard for my money and why should I give so much to the government who then gives it to lazy freeloaders?! Let them work for the money!!" That's an ideal that we are getting farther and farther away from because of technology. If you embrace the advances of technology then I'm sorry to say that there will probably be more and more "freeloaders" who are left jobless. I think it's hypocritical to buy iPads and flat screen TV's and yet expect a factory to operate using "ancient" 20th century machinery where 100 factory workers are needed rather than 21st century automation and 20 workers. What do we seriously expect the unemployed to do? The employed and the wealthy, IMHO, may have to get used to the idea that they have to carry their less fortunate brothers and sisters if they can't find "busy work" for them.

Not only are jobs disappearing because of technological advances, but because of outsourcing, which I have mixed feelings about. While I like to fantasize about global well-being and beautiful chiffon blouses for $7.99, another part of me wants outsourcing to be illegal so that Americans do have more jobs. Of course making outsourcing illegal will make corporations unhappy. Those wealthy executives would have to sell their private jets and shareholders--who have something in common with the unemployed because they get money by doing pretty much nothing--will not stick around if their dividends shrink.

If you're feeling resentful because your hard-earned income is being wasted on "lazy drug addicts," or "women who keep having babies," try asking yourself if you'd change places with them. Do you honestly feel they've got it better than we do? There might be that rare case of welfare fraud where yes, they do have it better, but these criminals often get caught. I believe there are probably many more crooked "employed" people. After all, supposedly the employed people are much more intelligent as a whole than the unemployed. I won't name names, I'm sure you've heard of the shenanigans going on in the banking industry, corporate world, politics, etc.

We like to think that America is the land of opportunity where a person can go from rags to riches, but realistically the majority of the poor stay poor. It's easy to say "I studied hard in school, went to college, work hard in my career, so why can't everyone do the same?" The reality is not everyone has the same spirit, brains, environment, and opportunity. Jordan, for instance, is one of those "freeloaders" who is unable to work. I wonder if anyone would to change places with her? She wishes she had a job, but jobs for the abled are scarce, much less for the disabled.

There is a lot of waste in our government at every level, I agree. There are bureaucrats with pure intentions who want to do the right thing, but "the right thing" is subjective. Taxes are spent by people some of whose intentions are good and others whose intentions are selfish. That, coupled with the reality that some from each group don't know what the hell they're doing (ever tried reading some of those bills?) yields an imperfect system. Just thinking of this makes some people not want to vote...or pay taxes.

Paying taxes should make us grateful we have income and are able to give, rather than having to live day to day at the mercy of angry complaining taxpayers and politicians who are trying to figure out exactly whom to please in order to keep their jobs.

This attitude may seem simplistic and too passive, but I do admire those who get involved trying to make positive changes. In the short term, I just find it least stressful to rationalize and accept.

I'd like to think those sign-wielding ladies in the photo above agree with me because they sure look happy rather than angry. It's probably because deep inside they know they are fortunate to have an income to pay tax from. *Ducking for cover*

P.S. If the above did nothing for you, check out the tax rates internationally and maybe you won't feel as bad.

What I Learned This Spring Break

2010-04-07T18:14:00.002-10:00

I mentioned in my previous post, "What I Did This Spring Break," that the three of us got a weird virus. Ordinarily when we get a cold or flu it doesn't last long (0-3 days) because I use an arsenal of virus-killing weapons: yogurt, Zicam, and grapefruit seed extract. I haven't had a bad sore throat for years and I credit the Zicam and GFSE for this, since as soon as I feel that scratchy throat, I use my sprays and the sore throat doesn't materialize. This time, however, nothing seemed to work and I was forced to endure a bad sore throat for over a week. I even went to the doctor to make sure it wasn't strep.

Another strange thing about this virus was that it affected us all differently. Leonard had a cough that lasted for three weeks, I had my very sore throat (no other symptoms), and Jordan had the more typical cold symptoms. I heard from others that indeed this virus was going around and Leonard's version was typical: a cough that lasted for weeks, even months! (Very possibly my use of Zicam and GFSE prevented the virus from infecting my lungs?)

Ho hum, boring right? Well what I really want to share here is that I have possibly found a very valuable anti-microbial solution called MMS. My sister had told me about this a couple of months ago and I didn't feel any need for it, thinking my trusty GFSE was just as good. Uh huh...one week of painful swallowing was the tipping point and I was ready to try MMS, which frankly smells like chorine bleach. (It is NOT chlorine bleach, I assure you!)

Long story short, I took two doses (6 drops then 2 drops 2 hours later) that night, and my sore throat was GONE the next day. Coincidence? Possibly. Meanwhile, Leonard still had his persistant cough and was fed up...and willing to try anything. I gave him a 6 then 4 dose. Next day his cough was pretty much gone (meaning just occasional as opposed to constant). Another possible coincidence? So how's this: Jordan came down with another cold on Monday--after being fully recovered for 3 weeks from the first one. I first gave her Oscillococcinum which is an expensive homeopathic remedy sold at Long's and WalMart and which has excellent customer reviews online. After 3 doses Monday, she showed minimal improvement on Tuesday. Finally Tuesday afternoon, still no improvement so I decided to give her the MMS (4 drops twice in 2 hours). By the evening she was back to normal and today happily went back to Easter Seals. Third coincidence?? Or....CURE!?

I won't go into details about this solution except to urge you to do your own research. With so much talk these days about scary viruses and antibiotic-resistant bacteria, I feel much safer with MMS in the house. I don't plan to do the full-on program they recommend for complete detox because that would require more careful research, but having seen three "coincidences," I consider this a keeper for occasional use. I did do a lot of reading online about the product and it has its detractors, but nothing convincing enough to change my mind.

At $16-$20 a bottle (depending on the site) I don't feel this is a "scam," especially since you use just a few drops at a time and more so when Jim Humble gives you the recipe if you're inclined to make it yourself. Considering the price of antibiotics these days, their decreasing effectiveness, and their potentially debilitating side effects (my mother still has blurred vision from her reaction to Bactrim last summer), it's totally worth looking into MMS.

Again, I recommend looking up any prescription drug at AskaPatient.com . I was considering taking Fosamax after seeing poor results on my third bone density scan, but seeing 882 patient reviews averaging 1.5 out of 5, I have to reconsider!

If you're wondering if there's a similar website to see what others have to say about "natural" remedies, there is! Go to EarthClinic.com and you can look up MMS there also. You can also leave your own testimonials on any natural remedy, such as Apple Cider Vinegar, etc.

Lastly, someone emailed me that "cough when you're having a heart attack" Powerpoint that I've received before. It's a good practice to research any of these forwarded email claims on Snopes.com to see if the claim is true or false. In this case it's labeled "false" even though it's partially true. According to Snopes' research, coughing can help only in very limited cases and can do more harm if you're not one of those cases. The better advice is to chew some aspirin and sit up quietly and wait for help.

Remember, I'm no doctor, I just like to pass on my health findings in order to help my busy readers! Subscribe to Mercola.com's newsletters for even more useful health info!

FYI, in case you're wondering, no, I don't get paid for any of these products or links I post here...darn.

What I Did This Spring Break

2010-03-31T15:13:00.006-10:00

Ok, I know I say at the top of the page that everyone's much busier than I am, but once again I've managed to somehow neglect my blog for three weeks.   I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry....I'm sorry (I think I now have FOUR regular readers!)

I was in Honolulu for a week and had a mystery virus for a week also. Which would you like to hear about first? Ok Honolulu.

We try to go to Honolulu every March to visit our moms, although now I'm thinking since Jordan's not in school anymore, we should switch this to May (Mother's Day!). On the other hand, I'm glad we went last week because I was finally able to attend the Kaimuki High School Foundation's annual fundraising dinner. I was so indecisive about attending that I finally made up my mind and went an hour late. Next time I'll go on time because I missed a very good silent auction. (Happily, however, I was still able to bid on and win a very nice Fossil cuff bracelet for Jordan that others had somehow overlooked!)

I admit I had reservations about attending the event because, after all, it was like attending a class reunion. In going late, I missed the social hour and arrived just in time for dinner. If you're like me, you want to go a reunion to see what other people look like after 30+ years, but not have to be seen yourself and more so, not having to talk to others much.  I once took a personality test in college and came out exactly in the middle of extravert/introvert so this obviously explains my wanting to go to a social event without having to socialize!  At any rate, it was an enjoyable evening and congratulations to my classmates, Steven Nakashima and Dale Yashiki and the rest of the foundation's board and committee for all of their hard work, which resulted in a record turnout this year and benefits the students of Kaimuki High.

Speaking of reunions, another mission I accomplished while in Honolulu was to hold a family reunion planning meeting. This will be our second family reunion and this time we're turning it up a notch by having it fully catered. Borrowing from the Edayan Family Reunions, we're planning to have seven posterboard photo galleries on display for everyone to linger over rather than just the usual slideshow where you see a hundred relatives in ten minutes... "Was that my great great grandma--or great great grandpa?!"

Because I've always envied those food judges on "Iron Chef," I suggested having a dessert competition at the reunion. Not that we'll critique the entries like in the TV show, though--we do have to live with each other afterwards, after all! We'll probably do the anonymous voting method to avoid family feuds.

We did two "tourist" things this trip that we haven't done in ages: We went to the Pali Lookout since Jordan's never been there--yeh smart, three people getting over colds visiting the windiest spot on Oahu---and secondly, visited Chinatown. I haven't been there for a few years and it's been even longer for Leonard. He said it was like visiting a third world country and suddenly Andrew Zimmerman came to mind, but we didn't see any "street food," sadly. But WOW, rats or no rats (I did look for rat bites on the sweet potatoes), I'd like to go back there next time and I wish we had Chinatown on Kauai. It would certainly expand my cooking repetoire which seems to be limited to 10 dishes.

When you live on Kauai, even if you watch TV as much as I do, you don't get the full impact of what the world is coming to...until you go from Chinatown where you see homeless ladies sleeping on the cement sidewalk to Ala Moana Shopping Center. Yep, we love Makai Market, Shirokiya, Sears, and Longs, but the newer shops are pretty much beyond our comprehension. "What?! A whole store just for Swaroski crystals?!" "What!? A whole store of TEA?!" We walked along the new upper level of the mall passing all those snotty one-brand boutiques, following young ladies in perfectly-fitted jeans with perfectly-matched accessories and I remembered how my friend Carol and I would spend the day at Ala Moana when we were 12 years old in striped "surfer t-shirts" and shorts, with straw bags and slippers to accessorize.

We were headed back to the parking lot and as a parting shot, the last shopper I saw had two matched red strollers unlike anything I'd ever seen before. They were unusual because they were completely covered, the front with a window of netting. I looked in as I passed and saw that each held an identical white lap dog. "That's it," I declared to Leonard. "The world IS ending in 2012...or at the very least, the United States is going DOWN!" I was never good in History, but I do recall that in more than one instance a civilization's peak ripeness was followed by decadence (as in "overripe fruit falling to the ground"). Check out this article for some points to ponder before voting this year. Don't worry, it's not touting any particular political party, just points out what fallen civilizations have in common, thus giving us a lot to consider at this crucial time.

Because we were all getting over our colds, we didn't have much of an appetite, but we nevertheless managed to drag ourselves to the following eateries:

The Ranchhouse in Kapahulu--- The first thing I thought when I sat down was "Where's the BREADSTICKS?!" All I remember about the old Ranchhouse in Aina Haina was how I loved the breadsticks. My mom pointed their absence out to the waiter who probably hadn't even been born when the old Ranchhouse was popular. The food was a bit pricey, but we ordered the Ohana Meal which was a good deal and although the menu said "feeds 2 adults and 2 children," we ordered 2 meals and fed 6 adults (two men, four ladies) plus we took home a loaded plate. We got some extra ice cream on our dessert platter because the waiter forgot our appetizer (he was probably traumatized by our demand for breadsticks!).

Happy Days Restaurant in Kaimuki---Always good, so aptly named!! If you like dim sum, you must try this place. It's always packed, so go early (before noon). My favorites are the taro gok, shrimp/chives, and the char siu pies (triangular with pastry crust).

Fook Yuen Seafood Restaurant in McCully---If you buy an entree, you can get a lobster for $10.99. Ask for the garlic lobster...yummmm!

Zippy's Kailua---Their small wonton mein was more than enough for me and delish!

Big City Diner---Steak pupu plate and garlic fries...even though the waitress pointedly warned me "The steak will be medium rare," it was barely pink, which was fine with us. The fries were excellent....the timing was bad since I had to go the KHS dinner just 2-3 hours later with garlic breath. That probably made me even more introverted than usual!

Toritos in Market City---They got my sister's order wrong, but we still like this place. Oh wait, I just remembered...the enchilada tortillas were not the usual mealy corn tortillas, but seemed to be flour instead. Madge said no, it's corn, but at any rate, I missed the regular corn tortilla.

By now you know how I always say my life is like a sitcom. Well it's not only because of me, but the funny characters in my life. One day while driving in Honolulu we had to decide where to eat lunch. My sister said, "Oh, there's a new Thai or Vietnamese restaurant in---" Leonard cut her off, "Naaaah, I don't like Thai!" I asked him what kind of food he felt like eating. "Hmmm...hamburger!" Naturally we ended up at Makai Market as we always do at least once every Honolulu visit.

My sister went in one direction and Leonard in the opposite direction while Jordan and I got our pizza slices at Sbarro and dim sum at the Chinese Express (formerly Patty's). We were half done eating by the time my sister and Leonard came back separately. My sister had a hamburger and fries. Leonard had a plate from the Vietnamese counter. *sigh*

After all this food talk, I can't write about our weird virus...health blog next time!!

There's Always TV!

2010-03-09T00:13:00.006-10:00

TV talk today!

Have you seen "The Marriage Ref" yet? The celebrity panel offers a lot of humor and from their opinions you get a glimpse into their mindsets, often surprising. The most fun comes from the married couples themselves and they don't mean to be funny, they just are. The things they argue about makes you go, "Gee, we're so normal compared to them, yeh?" Hmmm, oh really?

For instance, one couple needed mediation because the husband's beloved dog died and he got it stuffed. He intended to construct a "shrine" in their upstairs hallway (visible also from the ground floor) to display his stuffed doggie. Happily the panel and the Marriage Ref sided with the wife and the dog will be "buried" in the attic for her husband's enjoyment only. Check out "Fonzie" the dog and the Ridolfi's. I think they're a funny couple!

One decision that the Marriage Ref made that is still bugging me involved five tortoises. They're the husband's pets and yet the wife has to do most of the work caring for them. As they live longer than human beings, she's not happy with the prospect of doing this for the rest of her life. The Ref's decision was that she must. She wasn't even asking her husband to get rid of them all, just a couple of them! I'm thinking she made a tactical error by not asking to get rid of them all. We're not talking about little turtles in a terranium. We're talking about 70 lb. land tortoises! [I should clarify that this couple didn't appear on the Marriage Ref show itself, but on Oprah's show when she had Jerry Seinfeld and Tom Papa on as guests.] The Ref and Oprah agreed that it would be bad to break up the family pets, while Jerry said they're not pets because they show no expressions.  I think the wife should scoop up their poop and put it in hubby's car so he'll have a part of them with him when he goes to work.

Other arguments included a wife insisting that their "formal diningroom" be used only for Thanksgiving. I thought that was a bit too anal and I couldn't believe the Ref ruled in her favor, although he did concede that her husband shouldn't be required to set up an "instant patio" that she ordered. Another wife refused to let her hub install a stripper pole in their bedroom and the Ref ruled in her favor--thank goodness because a grouchy, reluctant pole dancer is a turn-off!  One husband complained about his wife who insists on flossing her teeth in bed. This was an easy unanimous decision for the panel and the Ref, and now this stupid wife has millions of people thinking of her as "that gross teeth flosser lady").   Of course all couples got a free Caribbean cruise at the end, so maybe she thought it was worth being exposed?

We audience members sit at home and laugh at these couples as though they're from Planet Crazy but I'm sure you could all come up with arguments you've had with your spouse that are just as funny as theirs. Not me, of course, I'm a very reasonable, intelligent spouse who basically just gives in to my husband's ideas which are always brilliant, and vice versa.

Other TV programs I'm watching:

American Idol (Tuesdays/Wednesdays on FOX): No favorite yet although I do like Crystal Bowersox whom the oddsmakers are already favoring. I also like Andrew Garcia. Unfortunately there isn't an Adam Lambert-type contestant who makes me look forward to the show every week. I have one wish about this show and that is I wish AI would choose the songs for the contestants. I'm sick of hearing "Wrong song, dog," and confused about the conflicting criticism of "you didn't make it your own" and "why did you change a perfectly good song."

The Good Wife (Tuesdays on CBS): Not only are three of the main characters among my favorite actors (Julianna Margulies, Chris Noth, and Christine Baransky), but we get a bonus in Archie Panjabi's character, Kalinda. She's my new favorite character of all the shows I'm watching this season. She's an intelligent, uber cool lady investigator who is often the Superwoman who saves the day. She's also sexy without dressing constantly to show cleavage like those CSI ladies. Where so many TV series have the stereotypical Indian character who is funny/nerdy or serious/nerdy, she's one Indian who is the antithesis of those characters except that they kept in the intelligent part. (Not that I don't love those comical characters such as Raj on "The Big Bang").

Dancing With the Stars (Mondays/Tuesdays on ABC): They haven't started yet, but I'm 99% sure Evan Lysacek will win or at least come in second. This man lives for training and from an interview he did after winning his ice-skating gold medal, it's obvious he is very goal-oriented. Not to mention the fact that three Olympians have already won DWTS (Kristi Yamaguchi, Apolo Ohno, and Shawn Johnson). Assuming he's as good as I think he'll be, the only reason he may not win is if the voters have an issue with him, if you know what I mean. I think Nicole Scherzinger of the Pussycat Dolls will also be in the finals. Every year when they announce the celebrity line-up I hope that there won't be anyone I care to watch so there'd be one less show for me to follow, and there have been years that I don't watch (such as last year), but I admit I have a lady-crush on Nicole S. and I love ice skaters soooo looks like I'll be doing the AI/DTWS juggle on Tuesday nights.

Anthony Bourdain/No Reservations and Andrew Zimmerman/Bizarre Foods (Mondays on the Travel Channel): I used to want to travel, but was too lazy to go anywhere except Honolulu and Las Vegas. I'm still lazy, but I no longer feel the urge to travel because of these two guys. I can pretty much live vicariously through them because they fill my "exotic food" need. Even if I went to the same countries they visit I wouldn't be able to eat what they do because they have inside info and connections I don't. Well anyway, that's how I'm justifying sitting on my behind watching TV instead of traveling to the food bazaars of Istanbul. That and saving $5000.

Dr. Oz (10:00 a.m. daily on ABC): Even if you don't watch daytime TV, you should try to watch this (record it) because you'd benefit from information you'll hear. What's great about Dr. Oz is he embraces both allopathic and naturopathic medicine.

The Middle (Wednesdays on ABC): I like this new sitcom and haven't been able to watch it because of the Olympics and AI. I had stopped watching family sitcoms because they started to annoy me with their usual hot wife, un-hot husband, and bratty kids. I didn't intend to watch The Middle, but somehow saw an episode and was hooked by that cute little (literally little) son, dopey insecure daughter, and also dopey older son.  I love atypical, especially because these odd kids are quite appealing in their own ways.  Patricia Heaton's mom character in "The Middle" is not half as capable and self-assured a mom as Debra Romano was, and thank goodness that Scrub's crazed maintenance man (actor Neil Flynn) is now a pretty average, though typically clueless dad. I like that according to what I've seen so far, this show is funny without the husband and wife constantly battling each other.

I'm also still into Law and Order, CSI, Ugly Betty (cancelled!), Desperate Housewives, Glee, and Lost. I'm trying not to watch anything new because I'm trying to watch less television. If you think I'm watching a lot now, you should've seen me a few years ago when I would be watching one show and recording two others! I rarely have to record anything these days and still wonder why a TVholic like myself can find too much to watch on "Budget Basic" cable ($13/month, approx. two dozen channels) and yet most people have more than double the choice and seem to watch less TV than we do. Well, as Bruce Springsteen sings: "57 Channels and Nothing On" !

Cakes and Caked Blood

2010-03-04T17:16:00.003-10:00

I saw a segment on KITV news last night which led me to this website where I spent a half hour ogling cakes. Kailua's Cake Lava's designer/owner Rick Reichart will be competing on the Food Network April 4th in a cake challenge. Here are two of the hundreds of cakes pictured on the website.

The cake on the left is one of my favorites and the handbag below is also a cake! Amazing! Who would want to slice up and eat such works of art? Me!! I was reading the page devoted to "flavors" verrrry carefully and if anyone's ordering one of these cakes for me, I'd like the Hawaii Five-O: Chunky pineapple cake layers with fresh bananas, mango curd, coconut cream, and shredded coconut.

And take a look at this leopard skin handbag. It looks like maybe it belongs to one of their clients--because obviously these cakes are not in the Costco Bakery price range! It's kind of funny to think of eating a purse, but I swear there's a photo of a toilet cake on their site! I wonder if they put a chocolate lumpy something in the toilet. Ewwww!

Now this next topic I wanted to bring up is not funny like a toilet cake, but icky also. I may or may not have mentioned that I've been reading Tess Gerritsen books lately. I was very excited to find another medical thriller author because they're one of my favorite genres. After reading her first two I went out and borrowed four more. She's one of those writers whose books you can't put down and I soon realized that she isn't necessarily a medical thriller writer even though the original two I read ("Harvest" and "Life Support") were medical thrillers.

The second set of books and I believe the majority of her books are serial murder thrillers and as far as I can see, all involve the kidnapping, torture and murder of women. Although I wanted to stop reading once I realized this, I found myself attached to her recurring characters (a female detective and a female medical examiner) and so I kept reading, often skipping over the icky parts--and there was a lot of skipping because the gory details were not spared. I admit I was disturbed that this wonderfully talented writer was abusing women. This series, incidentally, is being developed into a TV series starring Angie Harmon and I hope it won't be as dark because I love Angie!

I have a whole shopping bag of paperbacks from a relative. I looked through the bag because I needed a respite from the mental images of Gerritsen's women who've been sliced and diced, mummified, decapitated, and peat-pickled. Ok, this J.A. Jance book, "Day of the Dead," looked interesting because it seemed similar to a Tony Hillerman novel set on a Native American reservation. Cool! Ohhhkay, a chapter or so in I realized that young girls were being tortured, raped, murdered and cut into pieces by J.A. Jance. Once again, however, I was already sucked into the book because of good storytelling and a need to see justice done.

This was not the first bag of books I'd received from friends or relatives and in the past I weeded through them and tossed out the "stalking" books--often half the bag! It now dawned on me that there are way too many books written by women about the stalking, torture, raping, and murdering of females and what's more astounding is that these authors (Gerritsen, J.A. Jance, Jordan Dane, Tami Hoag, and Lisa Jackson to name a few) are bestsellers. So my question is why do women like to write and read this stuff?? It's unsettling to think that women are entertained by this violence against other females, albeit fictional characters. (Since none of Leonard's friends bring him boxes of books, I'm going to guess that women, not men, are buying and reading these books.) Are there any psychologists out there who will comment on this phenomenon? Meanwhile, it's back to Maeve Binchy and Janet Evanovitch for me---if only they'd hurry up and write more books.

Want to hear something creepy? Yesterday I was reading that J.A. Jance book where a woman kills her husband's young sex slaves (whom she supplies him with) and chops them up. Despite enjoying reading everything in the book except the parts involving the violence, I was feeling understandably disturbed and decided to stop for a while. I looked at the clock and noticed the Oprah Winfrey Show was half through and turned on the TV. Lisa Ling was discussing how young women in China were having surgery to add a couple of inches to their height by having surgeons break their legs. You guessed it, they had to show us the surgery and that's exactly when I tuned in: camera focused on skinny legs in metal frames being cut up. I sat there wondering if I was being sent a message.

So readers, if I should suddenly disappear and I'm found in pieces, it won't be a total loss. I'm thinking my blog will finally get read by more than the three of you!

Look At Your Man, Now Back to Me....

2010-02-25T16:59:00.005-10:00

Oh my goodness, I had to be sure you are not missing out on this funny commercial that seems to be the latest sensation. When I was a teen one of the careers I was interested in was advertising so I always appreciate clever ads. Yes, they did have TV in those days.

Although we first saw this while watching American Idol this week, I understand that it was first shown during the Superbowl. That "look at your man, now back to me, now back to your man, now back to me!" is genius funny and I mentally congratulated the writers. And come on, I did what he told me to do (looked pointedly at my man) and Leonard laughed--although maybe he was crying inside. *LOOOOOL*

While on Twitter yesterday,I saw someone tweet about it and I thought, "Gee, so we're not the only ones to appreciate that commercial!" Well I found people talking about it all over the internet and there was even an LA Times online interview of Isaiah Mustafa, the actor in the commercial. The Tech Guy, Leo Laporte, who has a syndicated radio and internet show, interviewed the creative team, Craig Allen and Eric Kallman,about how the commercial was filmed. In this day and age of digital graphics, I think you'll be surprised.

Today Ellen showed the commercial in her "Funny Commercial" segment and after screening it, said she'd like to have Isaiah on her show. [At the end of her show she announced that they called him and he'll be on the show next week---cool!]

And as Ellen says: "You're welcome!"

Excuses, Excuses!

2010-02-23T23:40:00.002-10:00

Well so much for my resolution about posting more frequently on my blog. Want to hear my excuses? One reason is that even after telling people I'm not a Facebook addict, I got stuck playing "Jungle Jewels" for a few nights because I'm simply not able to make it beyond the third level....grrrrr. Although I'm not into Farmville or Cafe World or any of those kind of games that are "virtual work" (planting, harvesting, cooking--are you kidding me?!), I do love jewels and chocolate, so I will play with virtual gems (Luxor, Bejeweled, Jungle Jewels) and accept virtual chocolate gifts. Virtual jewels are free and virtual chocolate don't go to real hips...uhhh, be right back, I have to eat, I mean get something.

My second excuse is that my back got wrenched again somehow. I'm not sure what did it: either bending down to unload our frontload washer or trying out my new BodyBlade [more on this later]. I must say, though, that I've become a veteran backache survivor. The first time I hurt my back three years ago by overstretching, I spent the good part of the day on the floor---not by choice, but because I couldn't get up! It cracks me up thinking of it because it taught me how peculiar the spine is. For instance, I was on the floor unable to get up when the phone rang. Luckily it was close enough for me to reach. I lay on my back explaining my predicament to my then-78 year old mother (who is in better shape than I). As I talked to her, I was suddenly able to stand up and walk around as though nothing happened! Wow, a miracle wrought by my mommy! "Wow, Mom, guess what! I'm fine now! Amazing! Yes, I'm fine, walking around the house! Ok bye!" Hung up the phone, sat down and yieeeeeeeeeeeee had another spasm and ended up on the floor again for another hour.

I recovered from that back injury in about 6 weeks and have twice since had similar problems, but now I've learned what to do (take anti-inflammatories and don't sit on a hard chair for too long) and what not to do (panic and fall to the floor). I learned that even if you're only going to buy one item in a store, a shopping cart is your friend. On the other hand, a "low-riding" car like our Toyota is not your friend since you need a half hour to extricate yourself from sitting at practically ground level and stand up, then straighten up because you're bent over like a 98-year-old lady! I'm thinking a monster truck would be ideal because you just have to open the door and fall straight down...making sure not to fall on your butt because that's another half hour again.

Now about the BodyBlade: I have never been so excited to receive a piece of exercise equipment before! I ordered it from ShopNBC, who has the best price on it from what I found online. I was annoyed, of course, that Hawaii residents have to pay double the shipping, but my feathers were unruffled when the BodyBlade arrived by U.S. Mail in just two days! [I still don't get why businesses use UPS when USPS Priority Shipping costs less and arrives in two days.]

The BodyBlade is an amazing invention because it's deceptively simple in appearance and is simple to do. Perfect for people like me: lazy homebodies with no dedicated exercise space. I read through dozens of customer reviews all over the internet and 99% of the reviews were 5 stars. Of course those who may have given it less glowing reviews are probably the lazy people who gave up after two days of trying and at least have the decency of being too lazy to write a bad review. Or more likely don't want to admit they gave up after two days.

Look at Jordan here "working out". That's not a ski, that's the BodyBlade and all you do, basically, is shake it! I'm hoping to build core strength and balance and maybe even get to see my abs-- as opposed to flabs--again. I'll let you know in a few weeks if it did me any good...or if you'll see it at my next garage sale.

Speaking of skis, the last excuse for neglecting my blog is the Winter Olympics. For a person whose only snow experience was driving through a late spring snowfall in the Alps and getting out of the tour bus for a quick romp in patches of snow, I sure love watching people flipping about on ice and snow. The opening ceremony, incidentally, was amazing and despite having a budget of one-tenth that of Beijing's, I actually thought it was just as remarkable. Interesting that while Beijing's was more people-powered, Vancouver's was able to deliver with technology...and k.d. lang, of course, who is one of my favorite singers. If you missed her performance, click on her name to see what many called the highlight of the ceremony.

As a proponent of global peace, I think it's getting to be more and more unrealistic to call the Olympics a competition between countries. If a Russian is training in the U.S. with a Japanese coach, how can this be representing Russia? This type of international teamwork is producing champions and I find that uplifting, but at the same time, I think if someone is representing a country, shouldn't they be using their own country's resources? Maybe it's time we quit tallying medals by country because at this point it's getting irrelevant. And that's a good thing!

Lucky We Live Kauai!

2010-02-09T16:02:00.009-10:00

My cousin Al read my "Soap on the Ground" post and commented that apparently nothing much is happening on Kauai. He added that possibly the homeless soap bandit, after using our hose to shower, stole our newspaper and made a clean getaway. [Well if so, the guy hopefully read the newspaper want ads and found a job and a place to live, far far away from us.]

Getting back to "not much happening on Kauai": Funny enough, I opened today's Garden Island newspaper and on the front page there were five stories. Out of the five, one was about McGruff the Crime Dog---tracking down soap thieves, no doubt---and another was about a chicken roosting in some band's tip bowl at the beach.

Now you non-Kauaians may be snickering out there, but I say "Wow! Lucky we live Kauai!" As they say, "No news is good news!"

Because of my very mellow life here, I'm able to bring to my three readers bits of info you may have missed as you live your fast-paced lives.

Check out these 3D photos taken in the early 1900's in Japan. To see more of them in 3D, click here. Pretty darn cool! Remember the Viewmasters we used to look at as kids? Well these photos were done with the same "stereoview" method.

Next, FYI, KITV news is having a segment tonight on Facebook Games. I'm mentioning this because possibly you haven't seen the promo since you've been busy playing Facebook Games instead of doing the more important thing: watching TV. I have a Facebook account, but I mostly just use it to tell my friends that I've posted to my blog. My farm has gone to weeds, sadly.

And now, potatoes! Check out this video about an easier way to peel potatoes. Try it! It seems to work, but I had a few duds for some reason. This should help when you try the potato salad recipe I posted earlier.

Lastly, some health alerts from Dr. Oz, Dr. Mercola, et al (not my cousin):

1) It's a myth that you can catch up on sleep. Sleep lost during the week is just that, lost and gone forever, and it's not good for your health. Dr. Oz recommends 7 1/2 hours a night. Our ayurvedic doctor was more specific: Be sure you're asleep during the hours from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. because this is when your body is best able to heal itself. Also, from Dr. Mercola: Make sure the room is DARK.

2) A study has linked drinking 2 or more soft drinks a week to pancreatic cancer. Uh oh!!! Looks like we have to go back to hard drinks then!

Remember, everyone, if you have a health issue that you're struggling with, try consulting a naturopathic doctor. In my experience, although naturopathic services aren't covered by our insurance, it usually just takes one visit. [We still see our medical docs, too.] I think if more of us went this route we wouldn't be having the healthcare crisis we're experiencing now.

Signs of the Times--Is This YOU?

2010-02-05T16:51:00.007-10:00

I got this in my email box today and it gave me a laugh. [Thanks Farmer Karen!] I revised it a teeny bit:

SIGNS OF THE TIMES--Yikes!!

1. You accidentally enter your password on the microwave. Ok, I'm not that bad!

2. You haven't played solitaire with real cards in years. I think I sold them at the garage sale.

3. You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of three. Aw, come on!

4. You e-mail the person who works at the desk next to you. If I worked in an office I would!

5. Your reason for not staying in touch with friends and family is that they don't have e-mail addresses. Well who wants to keep in touch with such Neanderthals anyway?! (Aunty Gladys won't see this will she?)

6. You pull up in your own driveway and use your cell phone to see if anyone is home to help you carry in the groceries. Hmmm, great idea!!

7. Every commercial on television has a web site at the bottom of the screen. Well of course!

8. You either answer your remote control or try to change TV channels with your cordless phone. I wrote this one in cuz I did this!

10. Leaving the house without your cell phone, which you didn't have the first 20 or 30 (or 60) years of your life, is now a cause for panic and you turn around to go and get it. Oh yeh, because if I don't that's the day I'll get a flat tire or engine trouble!

11. You get up in the morning and go on line before getting your coffee. Only if the stock market is down significantly.

12. You have online friends from 8000 miles across the globe, but you don't know the people across the street. Oui, oui, c'est moi!

13. You start tilting your head sideways to smile... : ) Now this is just silly!

14. You're reading this and nodding and laughing. True that.

15. Even worse, you know exactly to whom you are going to forward this message. Of course not, I'm posting it on my blog instead!

16. You are too busy to notice there was no #9 on this list. Really?

17. You actually scrolled back up to check that there wasn't a #9 on this list. Did NOT!!

Wow, life has certainly changed in the past 20 years and we're headed somewhere---not sure where---at breakneck speed! Keep those seatbelts fastened.

Be prepared! Not like this guy:

Gratuitous funny kitten pic!

Soap on the Ground!

2010-02-01T23:48:00.002-10:00

This morning my husband went to get the Garden Island newspaper from our driveway as usual. He came back into the house saying, "Are you up to date with our Garden Island payment? There's no paper." To my affirmative reply, he added, "No paper, but there's a bar of soap."

I blinked. "Bar of SOAP?!?"
"Yeh, on the driveway...near the pipe."
"Pipe...you mean the hose pipe?"
"Yeh." He seemed puzzled, but yet oddly unphased. "Maybe the newspaper guy's trying to tell us something."
"New bar or used??"
"Used, but pretty big."
"Whoa!! Maybe somebody was using our hose to take a shower!" Well heck, in today's bad economy and a growing homeless population, somehow that was the first explanation that popped into my head!
"I'm sure we would've heard the pipe."
"But we were SLEEPING! Wow, this is disturbing, why aren't you disturbed?"

A few minutes later he went out again, getting ready to leave for work. I couldn't stand it, so I changed out of my nightgown into my t-shirt and shorts and went outside to look at the soap.

Sure enough, it was lying there on the driveway at the corner of our carport near the hose: a golden yellow bar, used, but quite big. I stared at it and then at the hose, then back to the soap on the ground. I watch a lot of detective shows, so hey, I figured I may have absorbed some investigative skills. I looked to see if it was wet, but even though it was, that was inconclusive since it was probably morning dew.

Just then I heard the neighbor's garage door open and I looked over, hoping someone would come out to help the investigation. Our neighbor Debbie stepped out, bidding us good morning. I'm sure she was surprised to see me outside so early in the morning. I motioned to her, "Hey Debbie, come look at THIS!"

She walked over to the low hedge that separates our houses. "Look!" I said pointing to the ground. "Someone left a bar of soap here! Weird!!"

"Huh?" She squinted in the early morning light. "MY SOAP!!!!! I've been looking all over for that!! That's my soap for removing laundry stains, from Kojima Store! That JONATHAN probably threw it there! I'm so sorrrry!!"

SORRY!??! No need to be sorry for giving us a hilarious mystery!! Hoooo boy that was funny! Especially how I hurried to change my clothes to go look at the soap.

I will say now that Leonard did figure that one out, although I didn't want to mention it earlier in the story. After I gave my "someone used our hose to take a shower in the middle of the night" theory, he said, "Nah, maybe Jonathan threw it there." I somehow thought that was more farfetched than my homeless person theory. What would seven-year-old Jonathan be doing with a bar of soap and why would he toss it into our driveway?! (He's never thrown anything other than a ball and that was into our backyard.) Ah well, looks like Leonard's a better detective than I am even though he never reads murder mysteries and tries not to watch those CSI shows if he can avoid them. [More likely it's because he's a guy and knows little boys way better than I do!]

Heard of that silly song from American Idol, "Pants on the Ground"? Well how's this, General Larry Platt?

"Soap on the ground, soap on the ground

Staring like a fool at the soap on the ground!"

Anyway, it sure gave us a good laugh early in the morning and it's good to know nobody's sneaking into our yard to shower.

But what if the homeless person somehow got into Debbie's locked garage, stole their soap--and maybe even a TOWEL--then came to our yard to use our hose!?

Happy Birthday Oprah...and to Me Too!

2010-01-29T11:39:00.000-10:00

Today is Oprah's birthday and by the way, it's mine too. I always considered it very cool that I was born on the very same day Oprah was born (Jan. 29, 1954)....until today, that is. You see, years ago when I first discovered we were born on the same day, I had this fantasy that I'd get invited to her birthday party on TV. Yesterday I discovered that today's show will indeed have an audience of people who have Jan. 29th birthdays. Yikes! How did I not hear of this opportunity? So instead of feeling happy on my birthday, I admit I feel a bit sad and envious. This means I'm having to work on my birthday---work at trying not to feel bad feelings on my birthday.

Too bad there's no product to instantly remove these negative feelings, like those Tide stain removal pens. Ok, sure I could make myself some margaritas I guess, but aside from drugs and alcohol, I mean. [Actually I'm eating chocolate right now as I write this.] Judging from some of the comments I saw on the Oprah message boards, I'm not alone in feeling like I missed the boat, there were quite a few other 29thers who also missed the invitation for tickets. I think we're all wondering what birthday gifts she'll give the audience. An ipod or camera, ok, I can live without...especially since I have those already...but I need a new car.

I'm sure you all have had feelings of missing some once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It could be as trivial as this one, or major like others I've had. How we choose to console ourselves is really more important and indicative of how successful we are at acceptance and adapting. Missing an opportunity gives you yet another opportunity: to prove your strength or crumble.

I'm not sure what eating a box of chocolate qualifies as, strength or crumbling??

Meanwhile, against my better judgment, I will watch the show anyway---assuming my chocolates don't run out---and try to be strong no matter what she gives her audience. Hopefully she'll give them a trip to Hawaii.

Consider Me Entertained

2010-01-25T01:02:00.005-10:00

Did you check out "Entertain Me" Saturday night on KHON? It's a new, locally produced variety show like in the "old days" (i.e. when there were no remote controls and you had to stand up and change the channels). No voting or judging, just plain entertainment: singers, dancers, jugglers, comedians, etc.' Yay, no mindlessly hitting "redial" over and over for 2 hours. Huh, what? Not me, why would I waste my time doing that?

If you're over "a certain age," and grew up in Hawaii, you might recall "Televi Digest" with Barbara Kim. Oh my goodness, I haven't thought of that show in ages! "Televi Digest" was a similar variety program featuring Hawaii's amateur performers. When I was 11 or so, I, along with a couple of other students, performed a tap dance on the show. Sadly there was no videotape or youTube in those ancient times, so I have no "proof" that I performed on TV. *LOL* And maybe that's a good thing, since I don't think we were exceptionally good. Oh well, at least I can say I appeared on local television a few times. [FYI I just learned that "Televi Digest" went off the air in 1965, the very year we performed on the show. Remember my blog post about all my former employers going out of business after I quit? Spoooooky, huh?]

My favorite performer on the debut of "Entertain Me" was Grant Uchida. I'm not sure if there's an official genre label for his music--he does parodies of popular current songs as well as his own original compositions--but let's just say he does music comedy like Weird Al Yankovic. Possibly because he's part of the younger generation, his lyrics are a bit edgier than Al's, I think. Nevertheless, I thought he was funny and liked his style. Check out this video. It's not quite as good as his television performance because it was done on his friend's porch, complete with someone sneezing, friend's laughter, and other extraneous noises. Das ok, still funny to me....

The rest of "Entertain Me" was "alright". I want the show to succeed because it's good for the performers to have the exposure, and it's good for us viewers to see Hawaii's talent. I still can't get over one performance, not because the singer pretty much butchered "Don't Stop Believing" by Journey, but because there was actually a scrolling caption on the screen as he sang with an apology and a long explanation of why they didn't edit this guy out of the show (he's a nice guy, he told us he had a good range, he had to wait six hours to perform, on and on). Whaaaat?! I sat there wondering if it was a cruel joke. and I felt bad for the guy. He would have been better off performing on "Televi Digest"-- no scrolling captions in those days or any lasting public evidence of his performance to haunt him later!

Easy Potluck Recipes

2010-01-13T22:31:00.005-10:00

Here are the recipes I promised (by request!). I'm not the greatest cook and frankly I'd prefer to eat than cook, so you know these recipes have to be easy. They're both great for potlucks because you can assemble them ahead of time, bake/broil right before you leave and if it's not hot when served, it's still good. (Although like any dish with mayonnaise, they shouldn't be left out for too long.) The first is something I've done many times and have had requests for. The second is a new one I tried once and liked.

Baked Potato Seafood Salad

4 large russet potatoes (more if small)
3/4 c. minced onions
2 Tbsp. butter or margarine (melted)
1 c. mayonnaise (enough to moisten all ingredients)
1 1/2 c. chopped imitation crab
1 c. grated cheese (I use a cheddar/monterey jack mix)
pepper, salt (garlic salt if desired) to taste
optional: chopped broccoli or canned/froz peas
optional: 1/2 c. bread crumbs, 1/4 c. grated parmesan cheese

Cook potatoes, peel and cube. (I use the microwave to save time.)
Mince onions (you can saute in oil/butter if you want to cut baking time)
Combine all ingredients in a greased 3 qt. casserole dish and top with dry bread crumbs and grated Parmesan cheese.
Bake at 350F for 40 minutes (til bubbly or golden brown--if onions are pre-cooked, then cut baking time to 20-30 minutes).

The great thing about this recipe is that it's quite "forgiving" and you can improvise. Add some cooked, minced bacon, for example...yummmm! Substitute half of the mayonnaise for sour cream if desired.

Here's the second recipe, but I wouldn't make them both for the same party since they have several ingredients in common:

Pan Sushi

1 c. mayonnaise
1/2 c. sour cream
1 pkg. Imitation crab (chopped and shredded)
1/2 c. minced shiitake mushrooms (soak in water then mince)
1/2 c. green onions (minced)
Combine all of the above and mix (store in refrigerator until just before you're ready to assemble and broil)
4 cups cooked white rice
1/2 c. furikake

Add the furikake to the cooked rice and place mixture in lightly greased 9 x 13 pan, pressing rice firmly into pan.
Spread the crab/mushroom mixture over the
rice. Broil until the rice is brown.
Serve with Korean Nori or toasted nori cut into rectangles (about 2 x 4). Guests can spoon sushi onto nori and wrap it themselves.

I hope you get to try them out and let me know how they turned out!

You May Be Interested...or Not

2010-01-08T12:13:00.006-10:00

Just blogging off the top of my head:

I'm such a hermit that I haven't been into a 7/11 store for over a year and even then, never took notice of their hot beverage options. Yesterday, however, I finally discovered what probably everyone else knew (I now recall my sister mentioning this a while ago)...but in case you didn't: For $1.29 you can create a customized yummy cafe latte-type drink that rivals what costs over twice as much in other places. I'm not sure what I created, but it was fun and involved coffee, chocolate creme, caramel, and vanilla. Yummmm! (Larger sizes are available also.)

I heard on TV today that in Switzerland they fine speeders according to their income level. Whoa!!! What a concept that makes so much SENSE!!! All fines should be this way for total fairness, don't you think?? After all, $100 to someone making six figures is nothing and doesn't it make sense that he'd be more likely to speed again?

While I'm giving kudos, I have to say bravo to whoever thought of that American Express commercial with the smiley faces. Wow, I have to say that's a creative commercial that's simple, probably relatively low-budgeted, and charming. If you don't know what I mean, click here. (I would've posted it here, but do I really want a commercial on my blog that we can see currently on TV?) Oh, two other kudos while I'm at it: one to Paris Hilton who showed some sensitivity to a woman at a gas station on "I Get That A Lot" who could only afford to put $2 into her tank (gave her a full tank and some hugs). Also to Mariah Carey who did not email her fans to vote for her and yet won a People's Choice Award for Favorite R&B artist. (Jordan gets email updates from her website). I appreciate when people surprise me in a favorable way by doing or not doing what I expected.

I just found a website with video testimonials regarding Miracle II Soap products, which I sell. I don't "hard sell" these products because I don't like "selling". Pretty funny considering I worked in retail for 15 years then spent the next following 15 years selling my clothing--then again, maybe that's why I don't make the big bucks?! *LOL*

But I digress...I began distributing the Miracle II products when the woman that I was buying them from left the island. She loved the products and because she was financially able to, sold them at cost because she wanted everyone to use them. I took over her customer list and sell them at a small mark-up. I was never able to fully express the benefits of the products so I was happy to find this video today.

[I want to note that I love the Miracle II products even though I don't consider myself a Christian. If they hadn't been recommended to us by our naturopathic doctor, I probably would've been too skeptical to try them.]

Stay tuned for my next blogpost because I want to share a couple of easy and popular potluck dish recipes.

Another Useful Toy!

2009-12-29T09:44:00.007-10:00

I have to admit that my favorite toys when I was little had to do with food: toy dishes, toy food, tea sets, Easy Bake ovens, etc. I envied a neighbor girl who had a mini-kitchen with real running water. When Jordan was little we bought her a Little Tykes kitchen with everything to go with it, and you guessed it, I played with it more than she did. If you think I grew up to be a great cook, you're mistaken.

Several posts back ("Eureka! Housecleaning Kauai Sis") I wrote about how my $20 toy-like vacuum cleaner got my house cleaner than my $1200 Kirby (whose contemporary, by the way, costs twice as much). One of my friends who read that blog post thanked me later because she bought that mini Eureka Boss for her apartment and loves it.

Well guess what, I found yet another helpful toy-like appliance! When we went shopping at the Keeaumoku Walmart at 4 a.m. on Black Friday--which, FYI, is way too late for the blockbuster bargains--my sister bought two $4 electric mini-choppers. She gave me one and I reluctantly accepted it, saying, "Well I already have a regular blender and a Cuisinart hand blender with a bowl attachment--both of which I never use." My sister, however, has a way of finding things that suit me.

I brought it back to Kauai and it sat in its box on the storage--err, I mean diningroom--table until Christmas Eve day when I was running around stressed as usual. I was behind schedule preparing the two dishes I was taking to the Kaui's party. I had shrimp, kamaboko, carrots, and green onion to chop and suddenly I spotted the mini chopper sitting in its box. See, isn't it a good thing I didn't put it away like an efficient housekeeper would have?

The little $4 chopper saved my day, was simple to use, lightweight, and easy to clean. Somehow using something little and simple--no fancy settings or attachments--appeals to me. It's low cost means low stress because you don't care as much if it breaks. Certainly a fancy food processor is probably more versatile. For instance, I would've liked the kamaboko pieces to be a little bigger, but judging by the way the kaki age (shrimp fritters) disappeared quickly at the party, it was not an issue.

And typical of the way Life kids with me, when we played bingo that very night at the party, I won nothing (I don't recall ever winning at bingo!), but the young lady across the table from me did. She went to choose her prize and came back with---ta da!---the same Walmart mini chopper!!!! I swear I hadn't mentioned my mini chopper to her, it just appeared like magic in front of me. I shouldn't be surprised since I've always said my life is like a sitcom.

Movies, Books, and Food and Food

2009-12-27T11:56:00.007-10:00

This will be the first time since I moved to Kauai in 1978 that we haven't gone to Honolulu for either Christmas or New Year's. Blame the economy which caused the car rental companies to reduce their fleet of cars and my refusal to pay $100/day for a car. We did manage to go for Thanksgiving, though, so as not to totally neglect our families. Ok truthfully we also didn't want to neglect our need for the amenities of Honolulu (restaurants, stadium-seating movie theaters, Krazy Karaoke, Ross, Rumors, etc.).

Thanks to Wes and Trinette Kaui again for their fabulous annual Christmas Eve party! Unfortunately it rained this year, but that did not prevent everyone from having a good time and it certainly did not detract from the huge ono buffet or fun entertainment.

Then on Christmas morning Cousin Rose called to ask us to an early dinner. Rose is incredible at preparing a fabulous and healthy spread in record time. She can prepare 4-5 dishes to my 2 in less time. Imagine we decided at 9 a.m. to have this get together at 4 p.m. and we managed to prepare: grilled pork with tomatoes and onions (ok we have to credit Errol for that!), prime rib roast, baked potato seafood salad, black cod with cabbage, mussels fettucine, Kauai greens salad (There were probably 10 fresh ingredients in it, from spinach to avocado to fennel!) and lau lau. Everything was made fresh except for the lau lau.

We had been planning on going to a hotel buffet, but no problem, we had a dessert buffet that was just as delicious. Just nine of us and yet with Aunties Helen and Lucy contributing, we prepared six different desserts: Apple Crisp, Lemon Pound Cake, Cancanin (I see it spelled "kakanin" online) coconut mochi rice, Haupia Cake (ok, this was from Safeway), Double Chocolate Cookies, and Peach Pie. I still feel guilty 3 days later...not to mention I'm still eating the leftovers we brought home.

To make things worse, a kind soul gave Leonard a whole box of Omaha Steak's Apple Tartlettes. We haven't tried them yet, but they look irresistible! The Breyer's Vanilla Ice Cream is waiting patiently to accompany them. And then that darned Costco just had to put Haagen Daz vanilla/almond bars on sale. I mean come on, you can't pass up a sale like that. (I just had this vision of Richard Simmons looking into our freezer--yikes!)

Omigod, I've been eating too much these past few weeks and put back the few pounds I lost since October. Ugh! I have something interesting to share that I read: When you don't get enough sleep, you feel hungrier and eat more.

I seem to be proving this true because I've been getting less sleep the past few weeks and do notice that I'm constantly hungry. For instance, last night we went to see "Sherlock Holmes" and got home late. I got to bed at 12:30 a.m. and for some reason (the Pepsi I drank?) I took a long time to fall asleep and woke up groggy at 6 a.m. I was hungry all day today and I'm still hungry now at 10:30 p.m. so I'm eating Doritos. This isn't something I normally do.

By the way, "Sherlock Holmes" was great except I had a hard time understanding what they were saying at times for the first half of the movie. Either it was the English accents or my hearing is bad, or both. By the second half, however, I didn't have as much of a problem.

One reason I'm getting less sleep these days is I'm reading more books. My current read is "Harvest" by Tess Gerritsen. I love medical thrillers and I'm loving this one! I'm thrilled to have "found" Dr. Gerritsen because I ran out of Robin Cook and Michael Palmer books.

And lastly, another "health alert"--the first being get enough sleep to decrease food cravings--comes from the latest Dr. Mercola newsletter. To read the details, click here. This is a summary of "Avoid These 7 Foods and You're Off to a Healthier New Year":

1) Canned tomatoes--the acidity of the tomatoes causes the BPA's in the can's lining to leach into the tomatoes. Canned foods as a whole should be avoided when possible for this reason. I'm bummed because we like to make our own salsa with canned diced tomatoes.

2) Corn-fed beef--Grass-fed beef is much healthier.

3) Microwave Popcorn--again, you're ingesting the toxic BPA's from the plastic-lined bags. An Air Popper is very inexpensive, by the way!

4) Non-organic Potatoes--oh my goodness, not only do potatoes absorb all the toxins from pesticides already in the soil, but the vines are sprayed again before harvest and the potatoes are sprayed AGAIN to prevent sprouting. Chew on THAT when you're eating your McFries (my favorite...Leonard prefers BK's fries).

5) Farm-raised salmon--I did NOT want to know that farmed salmon are fed soy, poultry litter and CHICKEN FEATHERS. Whaaat?!!? Consequently they're full of contaminants and carcinogens. Dr. Mercola adds that most fish, even "wild" are full of mercury or contaminants, so he doesn't recommend a fish-heavy diet.

6) Milk produced with artificial hormones--which can cause breast, prostate, and colon cancer.

7) Non-organic apples---apples win the "most-doused with pesticides" award and are linked to Parkinson's Disease.

This list was prepared by various food experts and appeared in the "mass media" and Dr. Mercola agrees with it. He does recommend adding the following:

8) Unfermented soy--Americans are under the impression that soy is good, but on the contrary, it's considered an "anti-nutrient"!

If like me you're unable or unwilling to buy everything organic, Dr. Mercola prioritizes them for us. He recommends "...looking for organic meats, eggs and dairy products before anything else."

Ok, I've done my good deed for the day...except that I apologize for listing the desserts, that can't be helpful!! *LOL*

Avatar: $20 Plot Making Millions

2009-12-20T22:19:00.009-10:00

Life is so interesting, I am never ever bored.

Tonight we went to see "Avatar" and perhaps partially because Kukui Grove Cinema on Kauai never shows anything in 3D, I was a bit disappointed in the movie. For some reason I have yet to figure out, special effects in any movie do not impress me. Maybe because I'm a gullible person who accepts everything I see on a screen as a given? "Yes, flying dragons are flying among helicopters, no biggie. Totally possible," or "Sure, aliens climbing massive rock islands suspended in the air...well hopefully nets were used."

Yes, the movie was beautiful and I loved seeing this new world with it's amazingly- colored fantasy plants, bugs, and animals. I just wished they had spent some of the hundreds of millions of their budget on a good screenwriter! As I have learned in the past two years as a "sort of" writer, there are thousands, if not millions, of good writers around. I'm sure out of those thousands, there are hundreds who can write a story which isn't so predictable and/or with less "holes" in it.

I've learned that there are freelance writers who can write whole articles for $5 in just a few minutes, and it seems to me that one of those freelancers made maybe $20 on this script! The old "foreign" guy meets princess and her boyfriend gets jealous plot plus "good guy" from Establishment switches sides to fight Establishment plot pretty much indicates that. Or am I just too jaded from watching TV and movies for 50 years?

Judging from what I witnessed on RottenTomatoes.com, perhaps I am. Out of curiosity I went to the site to check the reviews and it scored an 83%. That wasn't the surprising part. What surprised me is that each "rotten" critic was severely attacked by readers (I hope they were mostly teenaged boys) who took the time to log in and criticize the critics for giving Avatar a "rotten" review! Oh my goodness, if only those people would expend as much energy railing against something that actually mattered. Of course I had to waste a few minutes of my own precious time to log in and complain about those complainers. Too funny! On second thought, not funny....scary!

So as I said, despite "Avatar" being rather disappointing, I was not bored. I was entertained some of the time looking at the beautiful---or weird---sights of the planet Pandora and entertained at other times predicting what would happen next. Lastly, but not least, discovering how passionate some movie fans can be when their movie is criticized. You'd think they were all somehow involved in the making of it--although the possibility can't be dismissed, judging from the looong credits at the end of the movie. There were literally hundreds of names listed, if not thousands! [And yet sadly, I think only one writer was listed---for that $20 plot!]

Aged Eyes: Do Not Shake

2009-12-16T09:44:00.005-10:00

Two posts ago I mentioned having an eye issue and as you can see, I am still able to see despite "stuff" swimming annoyingly by in my right eye every so often. I was diagnosed to have a "vitreous detachment" rather than a more serious retinal tear or detachment. The two eye docs I saw--yes, I was worried enough to get a second opinion--said the cause is aging. I also suspect is was caused by my jumping up and down the previous week.

I had this crazy idea that since I hate exercising and always finding some reason not to fit it into my loose (as opposed to tight) schedule, that jumping up and down is a quick way to get my heart rate up and at the same time it was twice as weight-bearing as walking, which would benefit my osteoporosis. Hmph! So much for efficient exercise. As much as I dislike Sally Field, I may have to take her advice and resort to taking Boniva if my next bone scan is not good.

As a reminder, if you suddenly start seeing a lot of new "floaters" across your vision or flashing lights, see your eye doctor as soon as possible to make sure you don't have a retina tear. If caught quickly, it can be repaired before more serious damage occurs. Click here for information on supplements for eye health as 25% of people over 60 experience this problem.

On a happier note, I was watching "Regis and Kelly" as I usually do and Anderson Cooper gave out "Crack Pie" samples to the audience. He says he's addicted to it. Being a foodaholic, I immediately googled it and found this yummy page that describes the goodies of Momofuku Bakery and Milk Bar. Gee, it sounds like a natural for Honolulu! What's more, Momofuku's owner/chef is David Chang, who is one of the most celebrated chefs in New York, and from what I read, he's Korean although I thought "Chang" was Chinese, and he trained in Japan. So hello, it seems to me he belongs in Hawaii! [Hmmm, you know how people are always saying 'hello' in that ironic way? Should we in Hawaii should use 'aloha' instead?] What's more, before learning that he's from the East Coast, I saw David Chang on Martha Stewart and he sounded to me like he was from Hawaii.

Well I must dash off to do some recycling since on Kauai we still don't have recyclables collection. I will try to post more often so stay tuned for another post soon!

Quick Post--Cooked in One Minute

2009-12-08T12:06:00.006-10:00

Just letting my 3 readers know that I'm still alive and sewing. I'll be posting here sometime next week because my last craft fair of the year will be on the 12th at Chiefess Kamakahelei Middle School. Hurray!

By the way, I haven't gone blind and hopefully won't in the near future. More on that next week. My minute is almost up--I'm a slow typist!

Meanwhile, check out this link if you want to see if your beauty products are toxic. The name of the website is Skin Deep. I'm considering switching to henna and bought some henna cream, only to find that it has the same rating as semi-permanent hair dyes such as Loving Care by Clairol. (Henna POWDER is healthier, but from what I've read, a lot messier and difficult to work with, plus the results aren't as good).

Please leave me comments if you have any experience with henna. Mahalo!

Did Sugar-Overload Cause Blindness in Kauai Woman In 2 Hours?

2009-11-14T20:16:00.001-10:00

Despite extremely bad weather today, I had a good day at the annual St. Michael's craft fair. I think the bake sale and the generous and delicious laulau plate lunch had something to do with that, but the St. Michael's volunteers and customers--made up in large part by their congregation--are especially gracious. I also always enjoy my fellow vendors. It was very convenient to be able to earring-shop during the lulls because Sue Okada was on the next table. I'd say her earrings are recession-proof because they're beautifully creative and yet very reasonably priced. I was also able to get Donna's Edibles caramel apple--my favorite coconut/mac nut-- just two tables away, yay! Yep, Jimmy Choo shoes or a Gucci handbag would not thrill me more than the booty I got today.

Just a few hours ago, however, following the craft fair, I began having these disturbing symptoms: a curved line of "lights" that flash in my right eye when I moved my eyes. I recalled reading that flashing lights in your eyes are bad news. Sure enough, my internet research scared me because they recommend seeing a doctor within 24 hours because a detached retina could result in blindness! As much as I hated bothering Dr. Lee at his home, I decided blindness trumps embarrassment so I phoned him. He assured me that Monday would be soon enough, and related the exact symptoms I'm experiencing because he'd had it himself recently. Well, if I can still see after Monday, I'll let you all know!

And now for this week's "Health Things That Make You Go Hmmm":

I must preface the following with a reminder that I'm no expert and I just like to pass on information of what others have experienced. We can't know everything on our own after all and even at my advanced age I often find myself saying, "Whaaat? Really? Nah!?"

The other day a friend told me that her dad had been experiencing a health issue for several months. It began with severe stomach pains that woke him at night and progressed to him having hallucinations and memory issues. Because of his advanced age--90--and because tests showed nothing conclusive, it was assumed that his "mental fog" was due to his age and his family worried that they'd have to put him in a care facility soon. Luckily one of the doctors, a gastroenterologist, suggested changing his diet because he'd been eating a lot of raw vegetables. Lo and behold, his stomach pains ceased and he was able to sleep comfortably. Most importantly, because he was now getting proper sleep, his mental clarity sharpened back to "normal" (pre-stomach problem).

Remember my blog a couple of months ago regarding my mother's bad reaction to "Bactrim"? During the worst period, my mom, a very mentally-sharp 80-year-old, was also not "herself" mentally, alarming my sister. Mom is pretty much "back to normal", but still has blurred vision in one eye from the Bactrim. I received emails from a few people who read my post saying they were similarly affected and one woman is still unable to work SIX MONTHS after taking Bactrim! [Again, I recommend going to AskaPatient.com to inquire about any medication you are considering.]

My point is, we shouldn't assume that a senior citizen who seems to be mentally hazy is simply experiencing "normal" age-related memory issues. Instead, it may be a symptom caused by something other than aging, such as medication, sleep deprivation, etc., so be sure the doctors explore all possibilities.

In closing, here's an unusual tip I got online for anyone experiencing frequent leg cramps at night: Put a new bar of soap under your bottom sheet (so mine is between the fitted sheet and the mattress cover). If you check Snopes.com, this is not disputed--it actually works for a lot of people! You may have to change the soap every few months. Some people even claim it helps Restless Legs Syndrome also. Sounds crazy, but wouldn't hurt to try. Please let me know by commenting if you find that this helps.

Two Most Talented People of the Planet?

2009-11-04T10:33:00.014-10:00

Simon Cowell called Terry Fator "one of the two most talented people on the planet" and although it's not clear who Simon meant was the other one, it's clear to me, anyway. (Hint: look left for both!)

Being slot machine addicts, when we go to Las Vegas, we almost never go to see shows. I've been to Vegas probably 30 times and I've seen 4 shows total. [Okay, so I went to see Smokey 3 times at the Desert Inn, but that counts as one show.] In fact, until this last trip, I'd seen only 2 shows in 30 years: Siegfried & Roy and Smokey!

My mom and I love watching "American Idol" and "America's Got Talent". It cracked me up when she once confessed that she voted TWENTY TIMES for someone. Meanwhile I think I voted 200-300 times for Justin Guarini---uhhhh, that's two hours of my life I'll never get back. I now limit myself to an occasional 10-20 minutes of voting tops, figuring my efforts did nothing for poor Justin so what's the sense? I mean Terry Fator got himself a $100 million contract and what do we get? I'm thinking there should be some kind of voting incentive....like the chance to win cash for dialing. Throw us poor voters a bone! *LOL*

I digress....anyway, like mother like daughter, my mom has seen just a couple of shows in her almost 40 years of Las Vegas trips, but she requested that we go to see Terry Fator at the Mirage. Having already spent $400 on Mariah Carey tickets for Jordan and myself, we decided to wait til the Terry Fator tickets went to 25% off. It was somewhat stressing to wait because I had to check daily to make sure the show wasn't selling out, but it was well worth the wait because we were able to get nice seats for the discounted price.

Terry's show is very popular--it was a full house--because it's highly entertaining and I recommend it even at full price. It's amazing enough that he's a good ventriloquist and funny, but he can sing like dozens of celebrities while not moving his lips. Whaaaat!? It's mind-boggling to say the least. My favorite is his Michael Jackson/Cowboy Walter Airedale routine where he's dressed like a Weird Al version of Michael and confesses that he's "different".... because he likes country music and wants Cowboy Walter to listen to him yodel. Walter, meanwhile, hopes Michael doesn't have a crotch-grabbing moment.

I was happy that Terry decided to keep this routine in his act after Michael's death. As a fan of Michael Jackson, I wasn't at all offended and loved every moment of it. Even if you're unable to go to Las Vegas or don't care to drop $100 for a ticket to his show, you can still enjoy Terry Fator either on YouTube or better by purchasing his DVD online.

After the show we were able to meet Terry and get an autograph. What we didn't know, however, was that they don't allow you take a photo with Terry with your own camera because they have a professional photographer taking your photo and hope that you're willing to pay $44 to get a copy! I wish I had known this ahead of time or had thought quickly enough to have Leonard surreptitiously click a photo from the sidelines with our new 7x zoom camera! The ushers, however, were nice enough to give us the heads up so we were able to take photos of Terry as he walked to the meet/greet area.

This past weekend the three of us, all MJ fans, went to see "This Is It." Not sure if it'd be crowded with Kauai fans on Sunday (the fifth day of showing), we were there exactly an hour before the 6:45 p.m. showtime and as we purchased our tickets, were asked if we were sure we wanted to buy them so early. *LOL* At least being the first to buy tickets for that showing, we were able to secure a bench to sit on while we waited. We were treated to--or others may say subjected to--impromptu MJ impressions by one of the theater ushers, obviously a devout fan who admonished a group waiting for "Zombieland", "You should see Michael Jackson instead!" An hour later, the theater, although not sold-out, was respectably full, "Zombieland" or not.

Consider this my public service announcement: You have just a week more to see this movie on the big screen and if you have any interest in Michael or music concerts or dancing, do yourself a favor and see it. You won't regret it. I came away feeling very uplifted. The movie truly did his fans a service by showing that he was still on his game despite being away for a decade. After all he'd been through, I admit I had my doubts about his abilities. Watching the movie, however, I was even more in awe of him than ever, not only because of his still-amazing dance moves or hearing his singing, but witnessing his sheer genius as he took part in directing different elements of the concert numbers. This truly would have been a special--if not history-making--concert and although it's tragic that it will never take place, I'm grateful that we are given glimpses of what would have been, and also grateful that our last view of Michael Jackson was such a glorious one.

As I said earlier, it's clear to me who THE most talented person on this planet was.

4'10" Daughter Carries Much Much Larger Parents

2009-10-23T10:38:00.005-10:00

I predicted that Jordan would have Beginner's Luck in Las Vegas, and she did! Yes we are back from our wonderful Vegas vacation. So much happened this past week after we got back that it feels like our trip was a month ago rather than just last week.

For one thing, we all got colds at the end of our trip. No, it wasn't Swine flu, just bad colds that I'm sure would've been much worse if not for Zicam and Grapefruit Seed Extract. The worst of it took just a day or two at the most for each of us. Luckily my bad day was last Friday and not Saturday when I had to man my craft booth all day at the Matsuri Festival then attend the Easter Seals Party at the Hilton that night. Predictably I had a bit of a relapse on Sunday, but Saturday's profits and enjoyment of the party made it totally worthwhile.

Okay, back to Vegas fun: Jordan's Beginner's Luck began with her spinning a $1000 on the the Wheel of Fortune machine. Her dad and I have been going to Vegas for 30 years and we've never won $1000 in one "pull" (that old term is proof of how long we've been trying). My own beginner's luck happened in Monte Carlo in 1976, when I put a quarter in a machine and got $30.00 in francs back. Could 1976's $30 be possibly comparable to 2009's $1000? Uh, no.

After getting just 2 hours of sleep the first night, we dragged ourselves from the Fremont to Main Street's casino to participate in the Waimea 67's class reunion slot tournament. We all had fun mindlessly clicking away for two sessions. I was surprised that Jordan seemed to get bad machines for both sessions and her score was the lowest in our row both times. Well, surprise surprise: She won $40 because not only was her score the lowest in our row, her score was the lowest both sessions in the whole tournament! We had a big laugh because Jordan was even lucky in her unluckiness!

Jordan had other smaller wins throughout the week, but unfortunately her parents--especially her mom--had larger losses. She did carry us the first few days, but alas, our weight overcame her finally *LOL*

On Saturday, October 10, Jordan and I went to the much-anticipated Mariah Carey concert at the Palms. The Pearl Theater is a "small" venue and our front row balcony seats were perfectly unobscured, yet not ridiculously far from the stage. The "bargain" camera I bought online at Sam's Club served me quite well: $179 plus shipping for an Olympus Stylus which features 12 megapixels and best of all, a 7X zoom all in a very slim and lightweight body!

It's very puzzling to me why theater security personnel bother to approach audience members before the show to remind them that photos are not allowed during the program. They don't say "flash photos" it's just "photos" period. Then as the show begins, they announce this same warning over the PA and it's frankly hilarious because even as they're announcing this, you can see a sea of camera's glowing in the darkened theater and flashes going off as Mariah makes her "Imperfect Angel" descent onto the stage.

Although we were disappointed that Mariah didn't do "Vision of Love" (Jordan's favorite) or much of her older material, she put on a wonderful and entertaining show and sounded excellent. It was an energy-charged experience that we were thrilled to be a part of. Having bought our tickets during the fanclub pre-sale, we were sitting with true fans and it's fun to witness their loyalty and excitement.

More later about Terry Fator's show, but I have to get some WORK done. Here are a few photos from the concert:

Thing That Made ME Go WHOA!!!

2009-09-27T14:26:00.010-10:00

I have a very important announcement to make: The U.S. Postal Service will be going out of business very soon.

This is my prediction based on a sad fact: Every single business I've worked for has gone out of business. I just realized this the other day as we were discussing the closing of Star Markets. It was an eerie realization as I mentally backtracked through my work resume. It somehow reminded me of "Back to the Future" where Michael J. Fox and his siblings start to fade out of the family photo. My work history is fading before my eyes and it's like I have no "proof" anymore of my past employment! Whoa!

The first job I had was at Davenroy Drycleaners in Kapahulu. They were well-known for their tuxedo rental shop. I worked as an invoice clerk at age 17 and when I expressed an interest in working at the tuxedo shop--thinking of all the cute guys I'd meet--my boss uncle gave me a flat "no", citing the uncomfortable fact that taking inseam measurements was, pardon the pun, unseemly for a young lady. Anyway, Davenroy went out of business around 1990...possibly because there were no girls working in their tuxedo shop.

My second and third jobs were at KeAno Fashions and Lola's of Hawai, respectively, both manufacturers of aloha attire. Aloha Oe to them both! I was a lowly designer's assistant, they never asked me for design ideas...small wonder they didn't survive!

Then there was McInerny's at Kahala Mall, where I sold shoes in the early 70's. That was only time I owned quality shoes. McInerny gradually closed their stores until they closed their last shop in 2003.

I worked at J.C. Penney Ala Moana part time in 1976 and technically they're still in business, but not in Hawaii. I also worked one day at Liberty House doing inventory and they're technically gone too, being bought out by Macy's. Tsk, tsk.

I never imagined the ubiquitous F.W. Woolworth stores going out of business, but they did, after over a hundred years. They gave me my first full-time job, first in Waikiki, then on Kauai, as an assistant manager. I'm sure millions of people have fond memories of going to their local Woolworth's store, especially as children. I never dreamt I'd work there, never aspiring to work at a "five and ten"...but I learned many life lessons working there, especially in the Waikiki store, the #1 profit earning branch in the entire U.S. It was like working in a three-ring circus.

After six years at F.W.W., I left to work at Star Market, taking another job I never imagined myself doing: cashiering. The attraction was that I'd be head cashier and would be training others, and that was something I enjoyed. Star Market Moiliili was the grocery store I grew up visiting weekly with my mom, so it was doubly sad to hear they'd been bought out by Times Market. Ironically, my mom has been shopping at Times more frequently for the past decade (since they opened a store closer to her).

So there you have it, EIGHT Hawaii businesses, both large and small, are now just a memory...and I just happened to work for all of them. Can you blame me for feeling confident that the U.S. Postal Service is now doomed? They were my NINTH and final employer. When this blog post hits the internet, they'll be shaking in their safety shoes!

Now I can't help but wonder: Was my presence at each company so invaluable that they each crumbled without me?!? *LOLM* I just made LOLM up just now. It stands for "Laughing Out Loud Maniacally"

Despite my laughter, I do feel sad that my past is being erased. On the other hand --always that silver lining--if I ever have to apply for a new job, I can write on my resume "Regional Manager of F.W.Woolworth's" or "Head designer, KeAno Fashions" and they'll just have to take my word for it!! *LOLM*

Things That Make You Go Whoa!

2009-09-19T22:02:00.004-10:00

I got nothing...

but I feel an obligation to write SOMETHING because this week I had a record number of readers (meaning double digits instead of just my usual three readers). It could be those robot things looking for a place to drop their links, but I think not because I invited a lot of people to read about my mom's antibiotic "attack."

Come to think of it, that's exactly what it was. The antibiotic thought she was a huge bacteria and tried to disable her. It really makes me wonder what would've happened if she continued the whole course. Scary.

I'm just happy that I was able to warn a lot of people of the possibility of antibiotics (or other prescribed meds) turning on you because most people don't know this can happen. Obviously it never occurred to my mom since she kept taking them for a couple of days after becoming so sick she could barely rise out of bed.

I'm going to take a sharp turn here and stop the health chat. Even Dr. Mercola knows to "lighten up" occasionally because he posted the video below in his recent newsletter. Perhaps you've already seen it because it's an old video, but I've been on the internet almost every day since August 1996 and this is the first time I've seen it!

Jordan said, "It's computerized!" and that was my first thought too, the first time I saw it. But nope, this commercial was made in 1985 and it is totally the result of human talent and probably 100 badly damaged cars *LOL* Watching this I couldn't help but wonder if a lot of stunt drivers are now out of work because of computer animation...what a pity!

Digging For Gold

2009-09-13T00:28:00.007-10:00

I hesitate to mention this, but what the heck, we deserve every bit of enjoyment we can find. I'm talking about a game I found called Gold Rush Treasure Hunt. I had a trial version on my HP laptop and if you like "click click" games, it's a winner!! It's similar to Bejeweled, but a thousand times better because there's much more to it...not to mention I'm a GOLD lover. It's an easy and fun game. It's good to exercise our brains by learning and playing new games. That's my reasoning and I'm sticking to it!

So I played the Gold Rush as long as I was allowed to for free and then it asked me to buy "coins" to play longer or to pay $19.95 to own the game. Hmmmm, did I want to spend $20 on something that would ultimately cost me a lot more in lost time when I should be either sewing or working on my online projects? Hmmmmm....so instead I googled "Gold Rush Treasure Hunt" and found another trial version... which I downloaded... and got an additional hour's play... hmmmm....I was really beginning to love this game. I googled again and found yet another trial.. and on this site, I noticed that instead of $19.95, they were only asking for $9.95!! Whaaaat?!

Gee, now you know how I love a bargain and $10 for a fun albeit addictive game is totally worth it! So I paid the $9.95 and have been playing this darned thing every day. I know eventually my addiction will level off like it did for Luxor, but until then I'm a happy camper camping in front of the computer.

Jordan noticed me playing and started hanging around so I stood up and let her play a few rounds. After a while I had to chase her back to the other computer. "Go back to your YouTubes, Jordan." "Okay Mom." About 15 minutes later she was hanging by me again. I said, "Uh oh, you like this game huh?" I couldn't believe my ears when she said, "I'm jealous of you Mom!" This was the first time she ever expressed "jealousy" and I was actually proud of her. We had a good laugh and I went over to the Dell desktop to download the game for her. I had my doubts as to whether it'd perform ok on the "old lady" computer. It's seven years old, and in Computer Years that's like 70 years old! Happily, it works fine and I was able to use the same registration key.

Jordan's still occasionally coming to watch me, but this time she says, "I'm beating you Mom."

Speaking of Moms, my Mom is doing better, but still feeling very weak. It's scary that this was caused by something that was supposed to heal her (read blog entry below). I received an email from a woman who took this antibiotic THREE MONTHS AGO and is still unable to go to work due to the effects of Bactrim. My mom, meanwhile, told her doctor to "put it on my charts" that she does not want any more antibiotics! He told her, "but what if you're dying!?" She replied, "Well I felt like I was dying after taking that antibiotic!" [Note, if this happens to you or anyone you know, I strongly advise you to seek naturopathic assistance to recover.]

Next, I know it's a real downer to hear this stuff--it's like "Oh no NOW what?!"--, but if you want to have a healthy thyroid gland, read the latest warning from Dr. Mercola. He's warning us to avoid bromides and to make sure you get some iodide in your diet. Bromides are found in a wide variety of sources from bread (dough softeners) to new car interiors. Yikes!! What next!?

Just remember, I feel compelled to pass on these warnings in case you care! My intention is to take good care of my three readers! *group hug*

Lastly, I want to mention that a neighbor of my mom's, Mrs. Flora Paik, passed away in August. Although I unfortunately never had the opportunity to express my fondness for her, she played a big part in my life because she babysat me as a baby and toddler. I have nothing but good memories of those ancient times and the Paiks are a family that I have always admired. Mrs. Paik was a cheerful and friendly soul, a good mother, hard worker and good cook. Although I never got to eat any since my childhood, I fondly remember her Seaweed Soup. How unusual for a little girl to fondly remember seaweed soup, huh, so it must've been wonderful! I also remember eating "ice cake" wrapped in waxed paper sitting in her yard. It's weird but when I eat anything from waxed paper (not often, obviously), I get a flashback of eating strawberry ice cake in the Paiks' yard.

I received a very touching thank you card from the Paik family the other day and it really made me wish I had taken the time to say more than "hi" the times I had seen Mrs. Paik across the street when I visited Honolulu these past few years. So if there's anyone in your life that you want to thank, do it now!