Wanting Memories on Memorial Day

And when I try to hear your voice above the storms of life,then I remember,all the things that I was told...

I thought that you were gone, but now I know you're with me...

I love this song.

Summer dreaming

My "to-do" list for summer....

The Hopefuls

• Go out on a boat. Maybe more than once.
• Go kayaking (no, I do not count this as boating)
• Have a not mentally ill mother (dear God, did I just say that out loud...)

The Regulars

• Hiking
• Body boarding
• Snorkeling and shell collecting on the North Shore
• Long walks with Border Collie

The Socializing

• Have my women friends over for dinner / lunch / hanging out
• Hang out on the beach with my friends. Talking. Laughing. Being.

The "Work"

• Refashion and update blog
• Work on writing project
• Plan for next school year

The Vegging

• The stack of books on the night stand
• Whole seasons of net-flixed shows

The "Wouldn't it be Nice"

• Get a scanner and organize old photos digitally
• Take a beading class
• Get a new camera and have fun with it.
• Have a not mentally ill mother

Edit/ Add on

• Win this All-Clad pan in this blog contest.
  

Seriously. Major mom issues.

Anyone know what to do with an 82 year old hoarder who refuses to allow anyone in her home, needs to go into assisted living, has no savings and a huge credit card debt, and ...

Traveling Thursday: Graduation, Hawaiian Style

I've attended many graduations here on the island. Most have been in the scope of my job as a high school teacher and helping out with graduation at the end of the year. This year our son graduated.

A special day.

Whether one graduates from public school, like my son; or from a small private all girls' school (my kalabash niece), graduation here in the islands is extra special. The fragrant leis, the island music and spirit, the beautiful sunsets...

I was uploading a really cool video of the class 2010 singing but blogger has been "uploading" an hour and I have to leave for work. Will try and add it in this afternoon.

Come along.








It's almost summer! Today I will be closing up my classroom and tomorrow beginning a new journey. New home, new school next year. Both my children in college...

Come on! Link on up.

Yea!!

Today is our son's high school graduation.

Thursday travel post will take you to graduation, Hawaii style.

Get ready to see some leis...

Spin Cycle= Stress

The Spin Cycle topic last week was stress...

Where to start..........

how to approach, narrow, be creative.

So many possibilities, yet limited by the Unbloggable.

Then I read this post. She said it so much better than I have time for, an amazing post. So do yourself a favor and go read Movie's post.

Alicia's Market in Kalihi

I have not had time for any exotic travels around the island of late. Between Son's graduation next week and my closing out the school year, it's been too crazy for much leisure time.

However, today I had to run an errand in town on the way home and decided to stop at our favorite Mom and Pop store for some poke and roast duck for dinner.

I was a good little ol' blogger today and had my camera in my purse so I was able to take you all along with me.


Alicia's is located in Kalihi. Not exactly a tourist area or a place you would roll by on a visit, but it is right on one's way from the airport to Waikiki. Just off Nimitz highway, it is located at 267 Mokauea Street. It's the real deal.

Smoked fish

Roasted meats...

Poke selection galore

And.............we're home. I should have wiped the plate and made a nicer presentation. Oops. I'm hungry.

Starting from 12:00 position we have roasted duck, miso tako poke (tako is squid), smoked tako poke, wasabi masago ahi poke, and onion shoyu poke.

I will own up totally that I have been on the fly of late. While searching for definitions of "poke" and "tako" for you, I found this great blog. A better post on Alicia's perhaps than this one, but what the hell. You're my blog buds so this one is from a friend.

Use Mr Linky to join on in!


And hey, click on the sunset in the side bar for a treat of a traveling post. That place is now on my list...

Starting my thank-you list

Over the last few months, I have been neglectful of blog business. My blog roll needs to be updated, awards need to be passed along. The list is long.

I'll start with a big fat THANK-YOU to Vodka Mom. I won a contest over at her place, and received the two above books in the mail along with a T-shirt, "I don't do spooky." The thank-you is long overdue....

Can't wait until summer starts and I can laze around and read the books. Then next year add them to my student lending library.

Thanks again Vodka!!!! You rock.

Travel Tip Thursday: Straight up and to the Point

The end of the school year in a high school is a frentic paced roller coaster of joys and angst and deadlines and pleading and silliness. One rolling in right on top of another.

So I'll cut to the chase and give you a travel tip.

When you come to Hawaii and go for a hike. Or the beach. Or where ever.

Don't leave your valuables locked in the car. Even in the trunk.

For reals.

Link on up if you'd like to join in.

10 more days left of SY 2009-2010.

Spin Cycle: A Car Story

Once upon a time there was a young couple who wanted to save up for a down payment on a house. They decided, as a way to save money, to not buy a cool car. So they drove vehicles that would save them money instead.

The young husband drove a moped to work, the moped his wife had used to go to class as a college student. His work, after all, was only a mile away.

The wife drove a car that her friends made fun of. A lot. A 1979 Ford Fairmont. They had bought it from an old man. The old Ford had 31,000 miles and had cost them only $700.

Several years later, when the engine blew, the wife was excited to get something else to drive.

But the couple had young children and a new mortgage. They also were taking care of the husband’s elderly grandmother. They needed something that could hold a lot of people, a dog, beach stuff; plus something affordable. So they bought a used mini van.

The mini van lived for many many years and had a load of mileage.

Then one day, while the not-so-young-anymore wife was at a stop signal, a speeding car flew into the car two cars behind her. The five car accordion action killed the old mini van.

There was a brief period of SUV ownership. Not a new SUV, but the closest to new that the couple had come to in car ownership. This fine black vehicle was loved by all and even given a name. Joey. Everyone loved Joey.

But Joey used a lot of gas and the daughter, now starting college, was going to commute to save money (by not dorming) by using her mother's car. What a paradox. What a conundrum.

The mom, meanwhile, was in a bit of a funk. A WTF kind of mood. She had recently been diagnosed with breast cancer and was beginning chemotherapy. She got a burr up her ass that perhaps once in awhile one should just go for it.

So, at 48, she bought her first ever new car. In truth, she ordered her car. It was such a popular car that there were none to be had on the island. Ordering was fun. She could get exactly what she wanted.

She got a black Prius. That averaged 50 MPG.

And while she made enormous car payments, she mostly took only weekend privileges. She let her daughter use the car to commute to college most weekdays.

But oh how she loved driving her car to the beach on the weekends.

Four years later the family moved to town so the children could be closer to the college.

The mom got her car back and the daughter took the bus to school.

Life was good.

Then, one day during Spring Break, the mom, being in a generous mood, said, “Daughter, you can take my car to campus today instead of taking the bus. I’m not going anywhere.”

And the daughter rear ended an SUV.

The Prius was in the fender shop for six weeks. It came out. It went back in. It came out. It went back in. And then it was fixed. That's what they said at least.

The mom decided it wasn’t fun anymore.

So she decided (since the pay cut for teachers) that instead of getting a summer job, she would sell the car. Pay off some bills. Save some money. Take the bus to her new job next year that is only eight miles from her house. Or buy an affordable used car.

Get stranded at home this summer and instead of working a second job she could finish her writing project.

* * *

OK I haven’t actually sold the car yet, but I am 90% sure I will.

For more spins on money saving, head on over to Sprite’s Keeper.

Mother's Day, kind of...

Hope all you moms out there had a wonderful Mother's Day. Mine was awesome thank-you very much. No beach, but a nice day with my kids (hubs had to work). The cards they gave me made me both laugh out loud and tear up.

As I try and find balance in my life and scratch out my blogging time, I give you the top reasons why I have been such a bad blogger these last few months.

1. We moved in February.

2. I am now a commuter and spend 2-3 hours on the road a day.

3. In the mornings, I have been committed to some spiritual rituals. I wouldn't exactly call it meditating yet, but it does replace getting on the computer before work.

4. I have been spending quite a bit of time putting out fires. Metaphorically speaking.

5. The latest pain in my ass is my computer is acting up. I need to get it looked at, but it is so slow it is not even worth bothering with. I try to catch up on you alls blog posts at work, but many of them are blocked.

6. Since the computer is acting up, I am reading and watching DVD's more.

Miss you all. I have three more weeks of work before summer, then I hope things will settle down. I have an idea how to not work a second job this summer despite my pay cut, but I am saving the idea for this week's Spin Cycle.

Aloha...

Travel Tip Thursday Mystery Post

I have to get to work and did not allow time to post beforehand.

So while I am stalling, those of you with travel posts can link on up and start the game.

My students have their final writing assignment for the year due today. It's going to be one of those days. Those of you with teenagers, visualize this. Out of 150 students, at least 30 to 40 of them will have every imaginable excuse and feigned ignorance for the due date, or perhaps the entire assignment.

On Mother's Day weekend I will have to grade all 150 (or less, depending on the procrastination bunch)....

Random Mother's Day Thoughts...

The Spin Cycle this week is Mother’s Day.

There are so many ways to go on this………….

Let’s go a little random.

* * *

For Mother’s Day, I like to go to the beach. I like to relax and enjoy the day. I never, ever want to go to a restaurant. I worked in restaurants for twenty years and would never choose to spend this holiday in that craziness.

Mother’s Day calls to those who are not usually diners. It’s a circus. I was waitressing on Mother’s Day for both of my pregnancies. Both my babies were born in June so on MD I was big as a Thanksgiving turkey on growth hormones. The non frequent diners had no heart for my soon to be motherhood and I got the worst tips ever for the hardest work day. Whatever. I cast my mother's curse on those people a long time ago, but now I'm trying to be a better person, so I apologize for any curse effects.

* * *

I was incredibly close to my paternal grandmother. I still miss her and she has been gone for twenty years. On Mother’s Day I miss her even more.

Happy Mother's Day Bahquine!

* * *

My relationship with my own mother is worth a book or two. She’s a bit of a challenge at times and lately those times are a humming. On top of an unbloggable year filled with trials and tribulations, my mother is the icing on the WTF cake.

* * *

Perhaps for Mother's Day I should wish for boring.

For more random, head on over to Keely’s

For more Mother’s Day spins, head on over to Sprite’s Keeper.

May Day is Lei Day in Hawaii...

I love May Day in Hawaii.


At Kapiolani Park there is a lei contest. The air is filled with the pungency of all the flowers, the bandstand has music playing, the lei makers and their booths are friendly and inviting. The leis are amazing.


For many years, my friends and I would attend the Brothers Cazimero concert at the Waikiki Shell. If we could not afford to go in, we would picnic outside after spending the day walking around the park and enjoying the leis.


Today, I am stranded at home with car issues. I was going to go to the festivities and take photos, video clips, save them for Travel Tip Thursday.

But all of this wonderfulness is going on and it is a beautiful day. Happy May Day to you all via YouTube. Enjoy.