Halloween Fuel!

How To Make A Pizza

by Ryan M.

1. Ignore the camera. You must concentrate. Block everything else out. It's just you and the pizza. Become one with the pizza.
2. Feed your mommy the veggies you don't like.
3. Then eat the toppings you do like.
4. Ta-da! Pizza Italiano! Ciao!

Thank you Will & Jada

I'm a huge fan of Will & Jada Smith, and it's not just 'cause I'm black. It's because I've always admired how upbeat, positive, respectful, hard working, charitable and hilarious Will Smith is. And then when he married the beautiful, strong and intelligent Jada Pinkett? They just seemed to get even better.

[On a separate, but related note, after watching the entire delightful season of Sister Wives, I've tried to convince Rich to let me bring Will Smith on as a Brother Husband, but he isn't biting...yet.]

So I was thrilled when they were on Oprah a few months back promoting Karate Kid. And once again, they impressed me with their parenting skills, their work ethic, their work life balance, etc. But what really deeply impacted me is that at one point, they started talking about how most well run companies have Mission Statements & business plans that support those Mission Statements. And as they wisely pointed out, since marriage and families basically function as a business- why not have them for our families as well?

Wow. Not only does it make a hell of a lot of a sense, but it definitely appeals to my fondness for organization and fiscal management. What they say is so true- it's very easy for each family member to have different goals and priorities that can easily carry them into separate directions...which can quickly become chaotic and unravel.

Later that night I mentioned the show and the Smith's idea to Rich, and in a manner of minutes, we quickly established a Mission Statement for our family. To be honest, it was more a brief, but free flowing summary of the way we've always tried to live our lives together. There were no item numbers, bullet points or noble deeds written in poetic paragraph form...in fact, we never even wrote it down. We just identified the things that are most important to us, and agreed that our financial decisions were basically supportive of our Mission Statement. So we patted ourselves on the back, time passed...and we forgot about it.

Sorry Will. Sorry Jada.

Until a few weeks ago. One evening, Rich and I were walking together when I expressed to him some concerns I had about his career goals. I don't want to get too detailed about the conversation because it's private (and honestly, if wants to be that guy who spins a sign on the side of the road than that's HIS business), but he and I both agreed that we needed to realign his career goals to be more consistent with our family Mission Statement.

And of course, time passed, and we forgot about it. Yes, again. Sorry Will. Sorry Jada.

To make a long story short, we took two hits in the real estate market over the past 3 years. After initially swearing off real estate and investment for awhile, we eventually decided to not succomb to fear/failure, to buckle down and start saving again, and to get right back on the horse and capitalize on the low rates and home prices. So we crunched numbers, got prequalified with a lender and spent the last few months hunting short sale/REO condos with our realtor. After writing countless offers on units that weren't panning out, we finally got bank approval on a fabulous unit with a great price and entered escrow.

So I thought that we would have felt celebratory at that point...but we weren't. When it came down to it, once we realized how dramatically our savings account would plummet, how tight finances would be, and how even a best case scenario payoff in 10-15 years would probably not be worth all the butt clenching fear we would feel for ten whole years... Which brought us back to our Mission Statement- is our mission in life to own multiple properties? No. Are there other ways to sacrifice, work hard and make money that are less financially risky and less psychologically terrifying? Definitely.

And so we made the difficult decision to do something we've never done before and called off the deal this morning...well, Rich did (this is where I like to play my passive Asian Card and claim that it's too hard for me). Though it absolutely pains my tight little Chinese heart to walk away from what is quite likely the deal of a lifetime with great potential financial reward, I know it's the right thing to do for our family's happiness. I suppose you could call what we did this morning fear or buyer's remorse...but I like to think of it as realigning my priorities, being faithful to our family's Mission Statement (well, Rich's and mine anyway...since Ryan says his is to eat cake and watch Sesame Street).

:-)

Jo's Christmas List for 2010

Last year around this time I posted Jo's Christmas List for 2009, and not surprisingly, I went 1 for 5 on it, since all I got was the Fuel Belt. And since technically I won the item from Big Island Running Company, it was really like going 0 for 5. :-( So let's hope that Rich is feeling far more generous this year since I also made my list a lot more realistic.

#1 - Unfortunately, the first item on my list is not exactly representive of my newfound humble nature. But check out this nifty little Smartecar! It totally rocks since it not only features my favorite car in the whole wide world, but also Hello Kitty and the color pink! What's not to love? Though Rich adamantly denies it, I'm pretty sure he secretly wants one too...so I may just surprise him and order one for us anyway. I know once it arrives he's gonna be thrilled.

#2 - The best thing about my second wish is that like love- it don't cost a thing (other than some gas and a cooler filled with spam musubis of course)!!!

A visit to the lava tube pools at Kiholo Bay! I have yearned to make the trip out there (about a 45-60 min. drive) for many moons now, but I've been waiting until Ryan is a little older since in addition to the long (for us) drive, there is also the challenging matter of hiking down to the ocean and then finding them, which will be tough with a two-year old. Still, I'm thinking we're just a few months from being able to do something like this....so this one could happen!

#3- A two night's stay at the Mahinui Treehoouse! I was hunting around for a nice B & B for my parent's to stay at on the volcano side of the island a few weeks ago when I stumbled across this gem...and I nearly wept with glee. This treehouse is hauntingly beautiful, a tropical, private oasis that beckons me like no other! I've been emailing back and forth with the very helpful owner about availability, but it turns out that Ryan might be a little too young to safely sleep in a treehouse with ladders, ropes and ledges. And I couldn't imagine leaving to go and do this without him (I used to dream of living in the Swiss Family Robinson treehouse as a kid!). So we will wait...but we will do it. :-)

I couldn't get a good picture of the actual tree house, but here is what I think is a gateway to the entrance....

And the stairs up to the treehouse...

Which I believe brings you to the lower level entrance...

And the best feature of all...this sweet, sweet outdoor hot tub! It's also filled with catchement water, even better!

This looks like the main level kitchen. I know that the entire treehouse accommodates only two people, and there is only one treehouse on the property, ensuring total privacy. However, it's conveniently located right near Volcano Village and everything that there is to see and do in the area (seriously though, how could you leave this priceless Garden of Eden?). :-)

How amazing is this view from your treehouse window?

So now that I've got you all drooling...the owner told me that they typically book 2-3 months in advance, but that they do offer a 10% kama'aina discount! :-) Check 'em out! I love it when locally owned and operated, Earth-friendly businesses succeed here!

And last but not least, #4- On a more serious note, since we're on the topic of holiday giving... Kona's own professional triathlete, Bree Wee, is organizing amongst other things, a Toy Drive for a Marshallese Village out in Ocean View. I'll link to her dream here so you can check it out and see if it's something you'd like to contribute to this holiday season. I just filled a couple of boxes with a few new outfits, some slippers, goodies and school supplies that we're excited about boxing up for the cause! It's officially time to get into the holiday spirit! :-)

More, more, more!

Things I have learned about life this week:

1. You can never have too much Reese's Peanut Butter Klondike bars.
2. You will pay for #1 in the form of expanded bat wings, but it's worth it.
3. Two-year old boys will never get tired of fire engines.

Even though we just saw a bunch of fire engines and demonstrations a week and a half ago, Ry was super excited about his school's field trip to the Keauhou Fire Station yesterday.

Hmm...we may have to get him some lifts for his boots so he can reach those pedals.

Please don't lose respect for Ryan's mad fire fighting skills just because there are teddy bears imprinted on the bottom of his "fire boots."

I missed the explanation of why all the kids were asked to crouch down and hold the hose, but it sure looked cute!
Even though I'm pretty sure the circumfrence and weight of this hose means it's usually only used to put out (tiny) barbecue grill fires, Ry was thrilled when he got to turn the hose on and off.
But the best was saved for last- munching on snacks and cooling off after all his hard work saving us all from potential (tiny) barbecue grill fires!

Kaukau!

Our friend Yuri made the most delicious homemade okonomiyaki & curry udon last night that I just had to cook something tonight...

Ryan's grub (he dusted the quinoa & pumpkin...left the veggie burger)

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So this evening while Ryan and daddy played outside, I made some quinoa, steamed pumpkin and homemade veggie burgers. It was delicious in a healthy sort of way (we all know that unhealthy things taste waaaay better). :-) After I finished dinner, I even chopped up some onion, zucchini, spinach and orange bell pepper (I never buy green when red or orange is available, they're just so pretty!) for tomorrow night's veggie pizzas.
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I told Rich we also need to think about getting us a decent food processor. I've been using a mini-Cuisinart that I got from a friend on my 25th birthday for years now. It works great, except it's so teeny tiny that whenever I make hummus or tapenade I have to make two batches, so it takes twice as long. I'm hoping Costco has something reasonable since I don't use one that much.
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And thanks to Yuri for whetting our Japanese palate(s)...because now I definitely want to make okonomiyaki again soon, which was one of our favorite meals in Japan back in the day. Though I wouldn't call it healthy, how bad can it be when 75% of it is cabbage? (I'm conveniently overlooking the bacon on top.)

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So I called up my brother (the snobby San Francisco one) and asked him where I could pick up a large, silicone spatula like the one he got for my mom recently (since it would make flipping the okonomiyaki much easier). Though I should have known better, I was still hoping he'd gotten it from somewhere cheap, but as it turns out (big surprise), he told me it was from either Williams Sonoma or Sur La Table. Which means it's probably $27.95. :-( I will probably still make him drive Miss Daisy around to a Le Linens & Things or Le Bath & Beyond before I commit to making 18 monthly payments on a spatula. ;-)
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I'm such a lazy, uninspired and impatient "cook," so if anyone has ideas on how to spice up quinoa a bit (and perhaps add some veggies to it) I would looooove suggestions. I'd also looove any good, simple, low sodium, moist veggie burger recipes (since mine was a little dry)!

Winding Down...

Chalk up one more crazybusyfun weekend for the 'ohana!

On Saturday I got up early to crank out my last long run before the half on Nov. 7th. I put in a 14-miler, running from home (Keauhou) out to the airport and then back to Costco, where I met Rich and Ry for some shopping. It wasn't my strongest or best run, but it always feels great once I'm done, and it still goes into the training run bank, right? :-)

Later that night we also got to go on a second hot date (to see The Social Network...pretty good) while Ryan played at Tyler's house. We got a text from Tyler's dad as we were pulling into their driveway titled, "Things I Learned About Ryan Tonight," with #4 being- If you fart, Ryan will call you on it. :-) Heh heh...so very true! Better leave the room if you're gassy and don't want an announcement to be made and/or to be publicly excused (Ryan will happily call out, "Excuse you!" if you pass one and then try to whistle and look off to the side and pretend it never happened).

On Sunday morning we had Keni, Riki, Noah & Naomi over for some splash time...followed by parental pumpking carving!!!

Only in Hawaii can littles ones jump into cold water at 9:30am and still not shiver! Okay...I suppose Phoenix & Fallujah are like that too, but I'm pretty sure those are the only three places.

Keni, Riki & Papa getting ready to carve!

Ryan pulling out pumpkin seeds with daddy.

Daddy asked Ryan if he wanted a funny pumpkin (mommy's idea) or a scary pumpkin...and to my surprise, he choose scary.

The finished pumpkins from left to right - Ryan's (aka Daddy), Naomi's (aka Daddy Dimitri), and Noah's (aka Mommy Heidi).

Kenichi & Riki (cough! cough! I mean, Daddy Jon) had the most labor intensive pumpkin- a Transformer!

We're wrapping up the weekend with some traditional Japanese food tonight at Aunty Yuri & Uncle Mike's- okonomiyaki (kind of like a cabbage pancake I guess?), kabocha (pumpkin in shoyu sauce) and curry udon! Oh, and also some very traditional chocolate ice cream...from the Meiji era. :-)

Po'alima (Friday)

Our Friday started like any other Friday. Ryan woke up on his Thomas Bed splayed out like a vic...

And since cousins Keni & Riki were off from school that day, I decided to take the three amigos out shopping with me (for three hours...eek). It was pure madness, but I consider myself lucky to have escaped with only one run over, bruised baby toe!

I have to admit, it was pretty fun having a 'picnic' outside Target though... I've never really given Ryan more than a few pieces of popcorn before, but he loved it (this makes mama's heart swell with pride)!

Once daddy got home from work, we went to visit a condo that we just signed papers on (it's still a bit iffy yet so I'll reserve additional comment until if/when it is more concrete). Ryan left his facial imprint on this glass door. :-)

After that, we squeezed in a quick family walk and a visit to the pool (we had promised Ry, and he kept reminding us every 20 min...nice), and finally- pottery painting with friends (if anyone is interested, I'm painting a fruit platter with heliconia on it). I use the term 'painting' quite loosely. Really, I'm coloring inside a stencil pattern...so it's like Grown Up Paint By Number. Still, I'm not gonna tell people that once it's done (if you don't)! :-)

Running the streets of San Francisco...and crying a little.

My younger brother Joey doesn't exactly have the best track record when it comes to great ideas- take running away from home and hiding in the bushes at school with only a bag of Teddy Grahams, for example....not such a great idea (everyone knows a box of Chicken in a Biscuit would have been a tastier option.) Or the time he ran a Stomper in my hair, resulting in my sporting a spiky Kate Gosselin 'do years before the world had ever heard of her.

Thankfully, he has finally redeemed himself. Because he just called me a few days ago to say that he signed us up to run the San Francisco Half Marathon while we're there! So in roughly two weeks, guess who will be panting furiously across the historic, picturesque Golden Gate Bridge with 5,000 lithe, WASPY vegans with braided hair & recycled hemp shoes? ME! ME! ME! That's who!!!

I have to admit though, as soon as my excitement died down, I got scared. Because I seem to recall that the last two dozen or so times that I've been there (I have a love affair with the city), that they have hills. Lots and lots of steep ones. And while I certainly don't mind them when I'm riding up one on a cable car stuffing my face with Ghiradelli chocolate and clam chowder...but when I'm running?! Not so much. So I quickly hopped online to check out the race course map and saw this verbiage, which I will quote verbatim-

No need to be intimidated by the hills- they're actually good for you!

Well, well, well...isn't that comforting and helpful. The hills are described as 'challenging', but my brother described them as 'brutal.' So now I'm a little freaked (not so much that I actually plan to train for the hills or something, sillies!). Instead I plan on just hoping that the MUCH cooler weather up there will help balance my time out a little. I usually run a half in 2 hours and change, so I'm hoping to do the same over there (please note that technically, a 2:59 finish is '2 hours and change'). ;-)

We land in San Fran late on a Friday night, and already have tickets to Six Flags on Saturday. I'm thinking that hanging upside down in a roller coaster and puking out cotton candy the entire day before a half is probably not highly recommended, but that's just how I roll... :-)

Bedtime?! Baah!

Last night Rich went to a work-related dinner at the lovely Sansei out in Waikoloa. Even though it would mean a very late night out for Ryan, I decided that he and I would tag along so that he could go to the Hilton Waikoloa...one of his favorite places on Earth.

Here he is just after the boat ride...clearly starting to get very sleepy.

And here he is about to dine near the Dolphin Lagoon...see how droopy those eyes, are?

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The restaurant had reggae music pumping out on the deck, and when he wasn't falling asleep in his dinner plate, Ryan danced away!

But his all time favorite thing to do at the hotel is to ride the train. I managed to capture the reaction he has each and every time the train pulls in (arms thrust in the air, huge smile, followed by "Yaaaaaaay's!"). This is also typically followed by an excited dance (captured in video below).

One of the many reasons why I love this kid...

And here is that aforementioned "The train is here!" victory dance (it kinda reminds me of what I do whenever I see a giant tub of movie theatre popcorn)-

:-)

Kitchen Remodel

Ryan was inspired to take advantage of the historic low HELOC rates and get his kitchen remodeled (since he also complained that his Coquilles St. Jacques just weren't coming out right)!

Before
After

Nice upgrade, eh? (Thank you, Craigslist!) Stainless steel appliances, more storage...but alas, as he pointed out dejectedly- no granite countertops! ;-) It took Ry and I a little over 2.5 hours, 20+ Lysol wipes, 4 'AA' batteries and some creative repairwork to fix a few broken parts here and there, but it was all worth it! We both love it, he even cooked and served up a meal to me of a stick of butter and a piece of broccoli. Better keep your day job Martha Stewart...Chef Ryan is on the loose.

The leaders of our 'aina

Early 13-mile run + car detailing + yardwork = major lightheadedness!!!

However, since it's extremely rare that outer islanders get the chance to meet so many of our state's political legends all at once, nothing was going to keep me from the Democratic celebration down at Keauhou Beach Hotel this afternoon! And because Ryan considers himself somewhat of a political mover and shaker, he made sure to grill the candidates on all the hard hitting issues near and dear to his demographic, such as- "Tell me Neil, are you more of a Huggies or Pampers kinda guy?" Or "Senator Inouye...what are your thoughts on thumb sucking?

Ryan and I (modeling my new combover 'do since my toupee was out of commission) with Neil Abercrombie...Democratic candidate for Governor.

The family with Congresswoman Maize Hirono (since Ryan is holding a taro chip in his hand...I can only assume it's to share with her).

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But the #1 reason we went to the event was to see Senator Daniel K. Inouye...President pro tempore (that means he's third in line to the succession of the Presidency after the Vice President), the second oldest senator in the US, the second longest serving Senator in the US (has continuously represented Hawaii in Congress since Hawaii achieved statehood in 1959), currently the most senior member of the Senate, head of the US Senate Committee of Appropriations, and most admirably of all- served as part of the 442nd as a Nisei during World War II (he lost his right arm in service), earning a Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Distinguished Service Cross, and a Medal of Honor. He is, in my opinion, quite possibly Hawaii's most beloved and cherished leader of all time... It was an honor to shake his hand.

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We had an amazing time (Ry did his first solo bouncy house debut!), and got a kick out of seeing all the security roaming around with little clear earpieces looking very alert and oh so important. You know, cause Hawaiians are known for their aggression. :-) Well...to be fair, if someone did do something like eat all the poi it would get pretty ugly.

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Thankfully, our evening ended without incident. In fact, we actually got to have dinner at Bubba Gump's to celebrate Riki's 6th birthday (for Ry and I anyway...daddy had to go to work)! :-)

Another crazy weekend...

We're only halfway through the weekend and I'm already kinda tired! But I can't complain, because really, it's how I like it! This morning Ry and I got up early and left the house around 7am to hit a few garage sales (no luck this weekend!).

Sidenote: I'm pretty sure my favorite part of garage sale hunting solo with a toddler is bending over to take him in and out of his carseat forty nine times an hour. Well, that or standing patiently to the side in the blazing sun while he yells, "I can do it all by myself!"and then takes four solid minutes to scramble into the car seat... and then six more minutes to fumble with the belt buckles before eventually looking up at me and saying, "I need help!" ;-)

After hitting the garage sales we hit two different stores in seach of a baby shower gift for one of Rich's coworkers. From there we went grocery shopping at Safeway, picked up some free CFL lights (have been meaning to try and switch over for awhile now, so this was a great incentive), hit up a Firefighting Demonstration, and then stopped at my Grandma's for my CNA duties. We were gone for over five hours so Rich could get some studying done. But not long after we got home, we drove out to a (real) pumpkin patch about an hour and a half away! Here are a few pics from the day-

Like most little boys, Ry is obsessed with fire engines, police cars, helicopters and ambulances. I tried to leave three times before he let me!

He also got a nifty firefighter hat that he happily wore even though it caused sweat to course down his little head!

He just beamed once he realized he'd helped put out a fire!

The signature Ryan smile in full effect on the back of an ambulance! (Should I go ahead and book a modeling casting call?) :-)

It was a quite a drive out to the Kohala pumpkin patch, but once we saw it through the tree line, I was filled with glee. Seeing a pumpkin patch on our island is like seeing a Christmas tree farm on our island- it just doesn't happen! Or so we thought anyway... So it was definitely surreal seeing one here. The trip was also especially nifty because we went with our wonderful friends the Nikolai's and because we quickly realized that it was something (visiting a pumpkin patch) that neither Rich, Ry or I had ever done before!

The million-dollar shot of the day...our little pumpkin amongst the pumpkins!

Daddy & Ry Ry hauling out our & the Nikolai's loot...

On the way home we stopped at Costco for grub and provisions and had a little more fun than usual- Ry hopped on the horsies...

...then he flung his boots off and excitedly hopped on top of the shiatsu foot massager...

...and then finished off the night with a jam session with daddy. He had a small audience while he bopped around for 3-4 minutes (he really gets into it). ;-)

So as crazy busy as today was...tomorrow proves to be equally fun. I have an early morning run, followed by a car wash & polish session (we're about 3 months overdue), then yardwork at our new house, a late afternoon stop off at the Democratic party celebration down at Keauhou Beach (can't wait to meet Neil Abercrombie and Dan Inouye!) and a birthday celebration for little boy that turns 6!

Oopsie!

We now know what Ry would look like if we got him one of those 'cat-eye' facelifts!

Thankfully, I think we have a good 17...maaaaybe 18 solid years before I begin bugging him about needing cosmetic work done. ;-)

Someone decided to cover himself with stickers tonight- "Mommy! I put sticker on my belly button! And my chi-chi's too!" Mommy thought this was sooooo adorable (and harmless) so she egged him on- "Ryan want more stickers?" and let him keep going...

(Reason #234 why I am not winning the 2010 Mother of the Year Award)

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...until she came to the unfortunate realization that certain sticker makers take their adhesive strength very, very seriously. :-(

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I had to put Ry in the tub and soak his flesh in warm, soapy water for a solid 20 minutes before I could even begin to start peeling those stubborn little suckers off! They took FOREVER to remove. The poor little baby gamely sat through it and even tried to help, but occasionally flinched and whimpered, "Ouchie, mommy!"

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(Sidenote: Afterward, each sticker left a little red circles all over his tummy...so it looked like he got cupped! I would normally find this amusing & photograph it, but um...not tonight.)

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Ryan and I learned a very valuable lesson tonight- no more stickers on skin! Only on clothes. But on a lighter note- I'm so amused by own dummyheadedness that I'm going to start an official list of Reasons Why I Am Not winnning Mother of the Year Award so one day Ry and I can look back and laugh and laugh!!!