Book I am Currently Reading

Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School by John Medina

My review

I bought this book as a recommended read on twitter. It contains 12 principles for surviving and thriving at work, home, and school. So far I've learned that it is not possible to multi-task. With this information, I am sure my lapse of memory (and it is a huge lapse), I am sure that what I mistook for multi-tasking is really me focusing on one activity haphazardly while trying to complete another, also haphazardly. I also learned that exercise is rule #1. And as kids do worse and worse in school, we take away more and more of their exercise (in the form of recess, P.E. and shorter lunch periods).


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I Love Me Some Mac Products

Saturday afternoon two of my friends (J & MJ) and I treated ourselves to a Mac (as in makeup) workshop, learning to accentuate our features. We had a blast, thanks to our Mac Coach, Desmond. Turns out he's from Laupahoehoe and will be in Hilo this coming Saturday so my girls can experience the same fun that I had!



Here's a pic of Desmond (he was the greatest, we had the "funnest" table) and a before and after shot of me and my peeps!

Swan Lake

As I was walking along Ala Moana Beach Park yesterday morning, I noticed four beautiful black swans preening themselves at the edge of the water. How lovely...

They even made the news on KITV!

New Book

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle: A Novel by David Wroblewski

My review

With all the trash romance novels I read (and there ain't no shame in that), when I come across a writer whose words are crafted like a beautiful quilt, all coming together to warm the reader's soul, it just makes me want to savour every moment of every sentence. This is the case with this beautiful book. It is set in the early 1900s, on a farm, where Edgar Sawtelle is born mute (though he can hear). Here is just a taste: "His father, reading to him at bedtime, voice quiet, lamplight yellow on the lenses of his glasses. The story is The Jungle Book. Edgar wants to fall asleep with Mowgli and Bagheera still in his mind, for the story to cross from the lamplight into his dreams. his father's voice stops. he sits up. More, he signs, fingertips together." Okay, maybe that's not THAT incredible but woven through many other passages of gold, it is a joy to read.


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Book Review

Barefoot: A Novel by Elin Hilderbrand

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
Set in Nantucket, two sisters (one with lung cancer, one who got fired as a professor at a college) and one friend (pregnant, left her husband) struggle through their individual "issues" while trying to support one another as best they can. This is a good for fun read. Not the best "writing" per se, but a nice story.


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Book Review for October

Second Chance by Jane Green

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
I'm a glutton for a pretty color and cheap price. This was one of Borders "buy one get one half off" books and I was craving me some fiction.



Second Chance is about school friends who are brought together by the tragic death of one of their "gang". They reunite, their friendships rekindled instantly, as if no time had passed between them.



It's here, in my possession, for the taking.


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Waimea Parade

Last year, at this time, I posted about Kaipo's participation in the Waimea Aloha Week Parade 2007. This year, Kaipo AND Kala'i participated for the same private mounted unit (Veterinary Associates). Here are a few pictures but I will post more later of the entire unit.

A Blast From The Past

Nineteen Minutes

Just got through listening to Nineteen Minutes. This book must have really wanted me because somehow I bought the audio AND got a hold of the hard cover. Started reading it then ended up listening to it. It sustained me through a few hours of walking.

It wasn't anything like I suspected. By Jodi Picoult, I thought it would be more along the lines of my favorite genre: romance, self awareness, absolutely minimal drama. I have enough drama in my real life.

Anyways, the main focus was about bullying. I even learned a new vocabulary word. The word is schadenfreude. Go figure. It's when you get enjoyment from the misfortune of others. This reminded me of the well publicized book (thanks to Oprah) called A New Earth by Ekhart Tolle. This book spoke about the pain body which is basically the same thing...thriving on the pain. Your own or that of others. That book in itself was kind of painful. I still haven't finished it.

The example of schadenfreude in the book was about the character putting salt on a slug to watch it dissipate. I remember doing that. But did it ever occur to me that the slug might be experiencing pain? I only thought about how cool it was to watch...all that slime, the slug slowly getting smaller and smaller until I got too bored to watch to the bitter end. And believe me, there were more bug torturing adventures in my life. Too embarrassing to recount.

But how will I use this author's message...the pain body. The bullying. Focusing on the strengths perhaps and not the weaknesses. Others' and my own. Perhaps that is the reason for having this book in my life. Live in the present. Be positive. Thrive on the joy of others. And my own.

Oh dear. I am in quite the contemplative mood.

At Mayor Kim's thank you dinner

At Hilo Yacht(less) Club

Rub on Native

Old Hawaii on Horseback in Waimea

My Obsession

Other women buy shoes or bags (I must admit I do have a small collection of these but not nearly as extensive as some of my very best friends) in times of need (stress, depression, celebration) but me, I shop in kitchenwares. William Sonoma. Executive Chef. Sur La Table. And I thought it quite ironic that my last purchase ( a beautiful 7 qt All Clad slow cooker--and I do mean beautiful, with aluminum cast insert that can be used ON the stove or in the oven) and a recent pre-birthday gift from my mom (a wonderful 8 qt pressure cooker, my first EVER, complete with a steamer/pasta cooker and a small pot) are almost opposites of each other. One I can use to prepare a meal for 10 hours later and the other when I need a meal in a snap! Oh, life is wonderful, yet again.

Top 10 Reasons to Carpool With Your Colleagues

Similar to David Letterman's top 10, here is my rendition as I have just recently started carpooling...a full car of 5 (this includes me, Kika and Kaipo) to and from Pa'auilo to Kea'au. Here it is:

10. Reducing my emissions (carwise)

9. Saving on my Tundra's wear and tear

8. Encourages me to clean out my truck so as not to embarrass myself

7. New gossip :-)

6. Extra exercise (not parked directly outside my building anymore)

5. Gets us all out of the house in time (no more dillydallying)

4. Gets others in the family to shop for groceries on weekdays

3. Gets me home at a reasonable time

2. I save (seriously, I figured it out) $25 everytime I DON'T drive

and the number 1 reason to carpool with your colleagues...

1. Getting out of meetings by 4 pm (Sorry, guys, gotta run! Carpool's waiting!!!)

Girlfriends

Girlfriends are the best. I have learned that this year more than any other. My girlfriends were my lifeline when I was young. They got me through high school. And then I got married and had babies and a career and, for the most part, had to put the girlfriends life on hold. Sure I still had them. Sure we talked sporadically. But I was busy raising kids, taking care of a home, working full time and travelling far distances. But now that I'm older I seem to relish the time spent with them more than ever, whether on the phone, on email or in person. I almost can't get enough. And I've come to realize that it doesn't matter how much time passes between "contacts" the spaces and places between dissolves.
When husbands, kids, colleagues, the man on the street gets you down, girlfriends pick you up. When you're at your lowest they intuitively know when you need them and what you need. And it's never much. A single word could suffice from your bff. Your best friends are never in judgment of you, but are right there with you to judge everything and everyone else with you. Your girlfriends are as flexible as you need them, willing to bend and forgive and agree and support because their value is far above rubies. My girlfriends are the virtuous women in my life.

I LOVE YOU ALL, MY BFF high school divas (you know who you are!), my hula sisters and associated 'ohana, my "KS" friends, my Hawaiian language friends, my Pa'auilo compadres. Good Times. Always Good Times.

Anticipating Work

So many posts in one day! I am anticipating being really busy in the coming weeks since school is starting up again and I've got some added kuleana at school AND at home. Just thought I'd add a few more pictures:

Kaipo and Hulali at Noweo's great first birthday party in Pu'uanahulu.
A good time was had by all!

Puna and Kanoa

Hulali and Kanoa

New Member of the Family

As if a new baby in the family isn't enough, we went ahead and got a new puppy. Yup, to add to our already large collection of dogs: 2 of Kalena's, 2 of my chocolate labs, and now a black lab (female). No name yet.

Field Trip

My mom's most recent source of entertainment has been catching the bus from Waimea town to Hilo (over 60 miles) to go "galavanting" (or however you spell that!) in Hilo. Once she tried it she was hooked. Like an addict. She goes at least once a week. Sometimes two.
So today, just for fun, Kaipo and I caught the Hele On Bus (I swear Hawai'i County is the greatest...our public transportation is FREE!) all the way to Hilo. We met grandma on the bus (she caught it in Waimea, we caught it in Waimea) and had a very enjoyable ride! The seats are super comfortable, they even recline, the a/c is on full blast (I was actually wishing I had a jacket), and the bus driver looks like she could beat me up so I didn't fear harrassment by any wierdos on board. Here are some interesting tidbits about catching the Hele On:

• You just gotta know where the invisible bus stops are because most are unmarked. We stood under the overpass bridge
• No food or drinks allowed. Except if you're the bus driver.
• It's free for you but $1 for your luggage, skateboard or any other bulky item
• You have to tell the bus driver where you are going (which invisible bus stop) or she won't stop there
• There's a pull cord that "dings" if you want to stop. But the driver already knows because she marked it down
• Did I mention it is free? By catching the bus to Hilo I probably saved over $20 in gas

Kajla trying to take a picture of me taking a picture.

Twas a rainy day in Pa'auilo but the ride was smooth and quick!

My Ballerina

What happened to my tutu?

Picture Update

Kanoa Ikaika
5 days old

Wii Fit

I looked in four states (Hawai'i, Oregon, Washington, Utah) for a Wii Fit and finally secured one in Walmart, Park City, Utah. I went one evening during my recent visit there, straight to the electronics area and saw that the space it occupies was empty. I asked the clerk behind the register and she said that they were all out and that perhaps I should check back the next day. Well, that I did. But this time I went straight to the same clerk and said, "Do you have any Wii Fits?" "Yes, we do" (they were stashed behind the counter). "I'll take one" (simultaneously pulling out my credit card). And in a matter of minutes I was walking out, beaming from ear to ear.
Today is just my second day but I am loving it! It takes in all of your data (and for some eerie reason, it new my birth month and date AND it knew Kaipo's too!) and tracks it day to day. It has a built in scale and balance detector. And the more you exercise the more it "unlocks" more exercises. So just when you think hula hoop is easy it unlocks an advanced hula hoop and the challenge becomes more difficult. I love it. I can see myself getting up early to exercise in the morning, starting off with yoga, doing some aerobics and working on my balance (you know, as you get older, this becomes more and more difficult). Seeing the minutes log into the piggy bank helps me to know that I've actually DONE something.
It is definitely worth the money ($89 plus tax).
I found this website about some random guy who did a Wii Fit experiment. His less than scientific experiment does indicate that the Wii Fit is great at helping you to lose weight PLUS his whole write up is fairly entertaining. Check it out.

Welcome into the World

Kanoa Ikaika Unsho Honda
6 lb. 15 oz.
July 18, 2008
Parents: Kalena Honda & Shelbie Uchima
Proud Puna: ME!
Proud Papa: GLEN!

Guitar Hero

Temple Square

This is the Tabernacle. Apparently the acoustics are incredible and they drop a pin every 15 minutes so you can hear it. We missed it.

Here is the Mormon Temple, off limits to everyone except Mormons in good standing.

This is where the Mormon Tabernacle Choir practices some of the time. The Conference Center seats 20,000 people.

I had the extreme pleasure of going to Temple Square this evening in Salt Lake City to listen to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir rehearse. It was fabulous. I had no idea what to expect. We got to see the Mormon Temple (which I assumed would be dome shaped like the La'ie Temple but it looks more like a cathedral), the Tabernacle, and the Conference Center. The Choir practices almost every Thursday evening, from 8-9:30 pm. There are 360 members and an orchestra that accompanies them. It was beautiful, well worth the $25 bus fare. We even found a great place to eat dinner in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building.

Park City, Utah

We caught the cabriolet (?) from our hotel down to the bottom of our road to an open market. It was a FUN and FREE! Bad news: we had to walk back up because they closed it one minute before we got there.

Here is a picture of our room. We have a full kitchen so I made sticky buns for breakfast. It's a great deal.

This is the entrance to our hotel.

Okay, I thought I would be in Salt Lake City, but we are actually in Park City, which is where they held the skiing and luge and some other events when the Winter Olympics were held here. It is a BEAUTIFUL resort area and we have a great one bedroom suite.
Interesting points about Utah:
1. The state runs the liquor stores
2. the liquor stores are not easy to find
3. liquor stores are called "State Liquor Store"
4. liquor stores are closed on Sundays

Haha. Seriously, that's not all the interesting points about Utah. There are more. I just can't think of any right now.
Okay, the FUN AND MOST EXCITING THING about Utah for me is that I finally found AND purchased a Wii Fit which I have been looking for for weeks (I kid you not). I have looked on O'ahu, Hawai'i Island, Washington State, and Portland, Oregon, to no avail. But there it was in Walmart, right across the street from the State Liquor Store! My shopping is done and I do not need any massages (as all my friends are doing). I have my Wii Fit!

SLC HERE I COME!

I leave for Salt Lake City, Utah, this evening, heading to a curriculum mapping conference (doesn't that sound exciting?). Will try to post updates along the way. If you know of anything exciting about SLC let me know because other than minimal sources of alcohol I have no idea what to expect.

My New Fave Website

I watched Rachael Ray the other day and saw a mom who committed to cooking in a crockpot for an entire year. I'm a crockpot lover myself but don't use it as much as I would like to. Well, after perusing her website I am sure I will be using it more and more. I tried two recipes in 4 days and both came out really great.
Last night I kind of followed this steak recipe and it turned out so flavorful we couldn't stop eating (wait...that's not a good thing!). I used three small steaks that I had hiding in my freezer for a few months (you know when you have those mismatched meats? This is perfect). I also threw in a zucchini and then laid 4 whole potatoes on the very top. I think it was the combo tomato sauce and Worcestershire sauce that did the trick here [side note: I didn't have enough time to do this one in the crockpot so I did it in my dutch oven in 2.5 hours]. The gravy that was created was incredibly delectable (like those words?).
The other recipe was a Thai Chicken Curry. This is a recipe that Rachael Ray's cooks developed for the creator of the website. It turned out really flavorful though I think I put too much Thai green curry paste. That stuff is HOT LIKE FIRE. I also think I could have reduced the heat (I had it on high). Bottom line: D E L I C I O U S!
I can't wait to try more dishes, especially once school starts again.

That's My Boy!

Yup, that's my son, Kalena, in today's Tribune-Herald. Needless to say, his grandma ran out to buy several copies of the paper. Me, I emailed it to the family on the mainland :-)

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan

I'm on a book reading roll. After finishing Trail of Crumbs in Vancouver, Washington, my sister-in-law Janine, recommended and loaned me her book by Lisa See, "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan". 

It is a fast read, I learned a lot about China in the 19th century, and it tugged at my emotions. I love books like this.

You can read about other faves of mine at goodreads.com.

No Photographs Please

We do tend to follow her around with cameras all the time...iphones, digitals, etc. I guess it can get irritating at times.

Trail of Crumbs by Kim Sunee

I am currently reading a book called Trail of Crumbs by Kim Sunee. I heard her give an interview in one of my NPR food podcasts. She is the food editor for Cottage Living and was adopted out of South Korea by a family in New Orleans. It sounded like my kind of book. Female main character. Food. Searching for Self. I ordered it on Amazon and now find it hard to tear myself away from it, despite needing to tend to the needs of my full house. I seldom mark or write in my books so thought I would use this area to log my favorite lines in the book. I am loving her writing:

As she stands with her lover, a multi-millionaire who has told her that he wants to give her everything he has she thinks to herself..."...he'll never realize that the everything he wants to give me will never take away the nothing that I've always had."

"I left to prove that I could be a person, independent of his needs and wishes and idea of what I should be, to if I know this, then why is it that I have never felt so alone and disillusioned by my own desires?"

Our Favorite Times...

...are reading with Hulali. She has her favorite books, including Goodnight Moon and Runaway Bunny. She can read those over and over again and has a good portion of both memorized. I love how she can just lie there, snuggling close to whoever is doing the reading and enjoy a good book over and over again. Hope her third grade teacher doesn't kill that joy.

Who is Entertaining Who?

I think one of the pleasures of having a "younger" aunty, might be the creativity involved in conjuring up new fun things to do. So as Kala'i was cleaning her room (finally), she found an old wheelie back pack of Kaipo's. So Kaipo took it upon herself to stuff her niece into it and take her for a little cruise through the house. With her little tiger in hand, off she went for a free ride down the halls and through the livingroom.

Wii..iiiiiiiii

Every now and then, we turn on the Wii and have our 'ohana challenges. So far, Glen is the champion  tennis player. I can't wait to buy the Wii Fit and get some yoga and aerobics out of this expensive system. Fun!

Billy Kenoi for Mayor

I am not one prone to attending rallies, coffees, meetings for candidates for office (although I did see Bill Clinton but for totally different reasons), but since my good friend Jo Kim is running for the State House, I thought I'd better go listen to mayoral candidate Billy Kenoi, especially since he was traveling all the way to my little town of Pa'auilo (gotta appreciate that).  It turned out to be a great decision: free food and entertainment. Not in the musical sense, but it turns out that Billy is quite the speaker! Funny. Truthful. Funny. Frank. Funny. Smart. Funny. Not that I want a comedian for Mayor. I just want somebody real. I'm tired of the jeans and brutal honesty of Mayor Kim. I'm ready for change. I think our island is ready for change. Kim did well and his tenureship is soon over. I like Billy's focus on communities working together. Volunteering. Not focusing on why things are or aren't the way they should be but HOW can we make it what we want it to be. I see good change on our horizon. Hopefully.  As he said, government cannot do everything. We ALL need to work together.

Our Little "Star"

Puna-Lua

Not to be confused with a punalua (the relationship between two men or two women who share the same spouse), I am here to announce that I am going to be a Puna again.
I guess with three children in their childbearing years (four if I lived in an old school Mormon sect in a remote area of Utah), it's bound to happen more and more often...
Kalena's first child, with his beautiful girlfriend, Shelbie, is due to arrive on August 4th. And, if you can tell in one of the pictures, IT'S A BOY! Yes, I will have one of each now. WHAT LUCK!
Thought you might enjoy these great 3D pictures! I've had four babies and have only experienced two ultrasounds and one was when I was in labor with Kalena! He was so, um, B I G (11.6 lbs), there were "issues" in labor and delivery. But all came out well as my hula sisters can attest, thanks to their help. Shelbie has had at least two ultrasounds so far and we are more than happy to see the pictures as "our" baby continues to grow.
Rest assured, you will hear it here when the happy event occurs.