Life with the Three Amigos!

Though he looks happy in this pic, Ryan loves nothing more than the companionship of his cousins.

And since the little guy is definitely going to be an only child (love that facial expression!), we make every effort to hang out with his cousins as much as possible (tougher than you'd think even though we only live a few yards away from each other)!

The other day, on my first trip out of the house in 8 days, we bumped into the cousins at the library...so we took them along with us to Target so we could...

...have a popcorn picnic (as we like to call it) together outside afterwards! It's becoming a tradition since all three boys are popcorn fanatics! It runs in the blood.

Then a few days later, we took Ry's two cousins with us (look at those good little Japanese boys who can use chopsticks!) to one of Ryan's favorite restaurants...Genki Sushi! You can see some of his favorites there...the inari sushi, edamame beans and avocado roll that daddy is holding!

And since Dairy Queen is right next door, we've made a tradition of going there right afterwards!

As soon as we got home, a friend of my dad's stopped by to drop off some opelu he had just caught the night before!

Ryan had a ball playing with them and getting what he called "sticky hands" while doing so.

This one is my favorite...it's like he caught them himself! What an angler!

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PS- Three more days and then we're San Fran bound!

FORTY...count 'em! FORTY YEARS!

Happy 40th Mom & Dad!

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In honor of the big day, we had a small family gathering at the house with a spread of Japanese food- Asian chicken salad, shrimp and onion tempura, vegetable yakisoba, garlic butter edamame, shrimp gyoza, an a-mazing sushi platter (from Hayashi's!), manju and blueberry mochi! No one was allowed to leave until they were waddling.

And here's a quick nostalgic look back in time! Queue up Shania's "You're the Still the One!" and grab some tissue! :-)

Edible Food-Like Substances

I read this article today (click on blog title for link) and threw my hands up in the air (after of course saying "Heeeeeeey" and "Hooooo" a few times). I'm so glad to see that amongst a million other good reasons to join the slow food movement, or real-food movement, or whatever you want to call it- here is yet another good reason.

I'm so disappointed whenever I find foods like this that pretend to have nutritional value (and I'm actually okay with 'junk' foods that have none, but don't pretend to either!). My biggest pet peeve is against the cereal industry- they try SOOO hard to advertise using 100% whole grains (sure, 1%!!!), contains 100% of your daily vitamin C (yes...but 100 grams of sugar too!), recyclable material (the box might be recyclable, but you only filled it halfway), etc.

Though I generally make it a point to avoid food that shouts/claims it has nutritional value (just like I make a point to avoid anyone who shouts/claims they're a Christian within seconds of meeting me), I admit that I got suckered a few years back. And I blame it on my bowels. Like all hip, cool 30-somethings, I have to watch my fiber intake. Specifically, I need to beef it up. So in an effort to do so, I mindlessly tossed a box of Fiber One Cinnamon Apple muffin mix in my grocery cart. It was on sale, it was a pastry, it had fiber. Plus, they called it a Premium muffin mix. Ooooh. Fancy. What's not to love, right? In my defense, I used to be a huge fan of Fiber One cereal, so I was operating on trust. Whoops.

Once I got home and opened it up, I was horrified to see brown little pellets in the mix that were purportedly the "apples." I did a double take once I saw them, not just because they looked a lot like mouse-droppings, but because I felt so disgusted and betrayed. How could Fiber One do this? Well, for starters, I think they're owned by Betty Crocker. But still! Little old people (and me!) need our fiber! What we don't need are fake apple pellets made with fake sugar and fake flavors and other assorted poisons thrown in it for flavor enhancement.

All I can say is- I'm glad we're all finally starting to pay attention to what's in our food. I'm the first to say I have a long way to go, but companies like this make it a lot harder to do the right thing. I don't blame them for making America fat, just for their misleading advertising and putting profit over health.

A Familiar Place

Back in November, I got sick. Very sick. For an entire month. If you'll recall, it started the day before we left on our 2-week vacation.

Recently, Ryan got sick. Huge bummer. Missed school. Missed playdates. Two weeks of virtual seclusion.

And 4-5 days ago, I got sick. Again. The exact same illness I had for a month in November. Fever. Dry, hacking, relentless cough. Nausea. Coldsweat. Sleepless nights. So now I'm the one with cancelled walk dates, long runs, etc. And Ryan (poor guy) has missed even more school and playdates. Needless to say, I have pretty much given my son up for adoption to my mother. ;-) He loves hanging out with her so much that he's thrilled.

The only upside to all of this?

A) I got a z-pac from the doctor yesterday. So I hope to get better, faster this time around.
B) I have watched every episode of House Hunters known to man.
C) We don't leave on vacation until next week Thursday.

:-(

Ry in the month of January

Gasp. Has it really been nearly three weeks since I posted a picture of Abner Ulyssess?

Sidenote: Two nights ago I discovered that there are fifty other people with Ryan's name on Facebook!!! What the... So much for originality, Rich & Jolene!!! So I quickly Googled some of the country's least used names (so we can rename Ryan) and came up with Abner Ulyssess...or Ulysses Abner (like you, I'm so fond of both that it's hard to choose).

Anyhow...here are a few recent self portraits of little Abner & Daddy! Take note of the third one, where racist daddy makes fun of his little Asian son's "Cheeeeeese!" face!

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We've been on the hunt for cold weather clothes for our upcoming trip to San Fran (two weeks!). Found this pea coat at Target! Cute, but still a little pricey for a one week trip. Not to mention stuffy. We're going to San Fran (he'd fit in better wearing a tie-dyed t-shirt), not D.C.

The East Siiiiiiide vs. The West Siiiiiide

I just had to repost this WSJ article (courtesy of The Wongstar) discussing the merits/downfalls of strict Asian childrearing tactics. This article (warning: it is very lengthy) was one of the most thought provoking I've read in a very long time. It's also quite poignant to me because to a degree (albeit a much, much, muuuuuch lesser one), for better or for worse...I lived it. :-)

Additional homework assignments whenever I received a poor report card.
Golf.
4-H.
Collared shirts.
Ricebowl bangs.

Need I say more? Let's just say the prom invites were not exactly rolling in and leave it at that.

The article has created quite a stir online (click on the blog title to read it, the link was waaaaaaay too long to retype since Blogger doesn't allow you to cut and paste), with over 4,000 readers sounding off with their thoughts. And I can see why. Rich and I read it together and couldn't stop talking about it. Though the author goes on to say (be sure to also click on the link in the sidebar of the article for a great Q & A with the author) that her book (which I'm definitely going to request from the library) is ultimately about backing off the Eastern/Chinese parenting style, I have to say, there are definitely some pro's outlined (namely to have higher expectations for your children than they may set for themselves) that I hadn't thought of. Which is to say, it's easy to jump on the bandwagon and berate immigrant parents for 'destroying' their children with such 'cruel' childrearing practices, but it's also unfair and overly simplistic to assume that it's 100% bad. I had one of the best childhoods around, but it definitely came with certain expectations that we never ever for a single second, a millisecond thought were debateable (that is, if we wanted our heads attached to the rest of our body).

I do know that if I had to label my parenting style thus far, that it would definitely be more western (hellooooo...my boy is 2 1/2 years old and still no potty training!), which was my intent. However, the article reminded me that the tougher road(s) lie ahead, and we'll need to discuss and probably tweak our strategy as time goes on. In some areas, we are both committed to being uncompromisingly strict (drugs, manners, chores and pitching in), but in others (academia, sports, self esteem building) I'm pretty sure that we're going to be western namby pambys who encourage Ryan to do whatever his heart desires- whether it be to dance professionally, sell insurance door-to-door or be a stay-at-home-dad.

So please, if you're a parent and have time to spare, give the article a read. You won't regret it. And feel free to sound off in the comments section and share your thoughts... All right then, I'm off to check on Ryan (he's supposed to be studying his multiplication tables but I think I hear him playing with his cello instead). :-)

3 Good Reasons & Other Misc Ramblings

The marathon is creeping up on me (less than 3 months away!), so I started increasing my mileage a few weeks ago. This past weekend's long run was scheduled to be a 15-miler, but it became a 14-mile run with a 1-mile cool down walk. ;-) I've told Rich a few times now that training for a marathon this time around has been veeeeery different for me, most notably because I'm:

1. Older (by 3 years...Granny is 37 this year)
2. Chubbier (by 8-10 lbs.)
3. Lazier

So where I once used to shower after my long runs and then bound back out again to go and do my eekly grocery shopping, nowdays I'm so exhausted afterward that I end up shuffling around, grimacing, and mumbling to myself. I'm pretty sure it's very attractive.

On a related note, unlike the other two marathons where I sortakinda knew they wouldn't be the last, I'm starting to think this one really will be. I've always said that the marathon distance hurts too much, and that the half is much more, well...me. So I'm pretty sure returning back to the much more manageable 13.1 will be a good move for me. And though my griping about this race does a pretty good job of disguising my excitement about this race, I really do want this one. It will really make me feel great to be able to say I did one post-baby (no matter how slow I am).
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I'm also pretty excited about getting to do 2 of my long runs in San Fran next month. One will be one of my longer runs (perhaps 18 or so), and the other will be a shorter one (13 or so). I actually had a chance to enter another half while we're up there (the Kaiser Permanente Half), but decided that I'd rather not have to worry about race shuttles, parking, crowds, picking up a race packet, etc. with our limited time there.

We're still in the process of figuring out what to do while we're there, but I was super excited to get some tickets to the Discovery Bay Museum in Sausalito (it was on our definite to-do list for this trip) for 60% off via Groupon. I've been diligently reading my San Fran Groupon daily deal emails for months and was soooo excited to finally get to take advantage of one. I also got to use my first local "groupon" via PlayHawaii last night at Ultimate Burger...so let's hope they take off here in the outer islands too because I love 'em, love the concept.

One thing I don't think we'll be doing on this trip is taking Ryan to see the snow. We had tossed around the idea of driving up to Yosemite so our little Hawaiian could see snow, but then I realized that A) Technically, he's already seen snow. We took him to Alaska last summer. But he claims he doesn't remember it. ??? B) The child will be in Iceland this summer...I'm pretty sure he'll get to see some. C) If for some reason we don't find some snow in Iceland (and there is a chance of this since it will be a 'warm and toasty' 50 degrees while we're there), D) If nothing else, we will be in cold, mountainous Tehachapi, CA. next January...where he'll likely see snow. And last but not least...E) If seeing snow is really thaaaat important to me, right now we have snow on both Mauna Kea AND Mauna Loa...all we have to do is get in the truck and drive up to go see it! So I think we're gonna pass on the snow in Feb. and spend the time doing something else instead...like apple picking (Rich found a farm)! :-) Can't wait.

More for the Reykjavik To Do List!

As is usually the case, my repeated references to our upcoming trip to Iceland is not a desire to show off (again, pride is not usually an issue when you're unemployed, living in your parent's basement and still can't fit into your pre-pregnancy clothes). Rather, it is my euphoria about getting off the rock.

So even though the trip is still eight months away, I've already devoured the Lonely Planet Iceland twice, and have counted, folded, recounted and refolded Ryan's winter wardrobe a few times! As you can imagine, it takes time to accumulate warm weather wear here in the islands, so if he outgrows any of the clothes I've gotten for him (and he shouldn't since I plan on feeding him only carrot sticks and water until then), he'll just have to stay home by himself. But that will be his choice. Let's hope he chooses wisely.

So aside from the Blue Lagoon and the Ice Bar (see prior Hallo Reykjavik! post), I'd have to say that turf houses are definitely on the to-do list. I looooove these houses, and recently read an article in Time magazine about how difficult they are to maintain. Technically, the article was about the maintenance of modern green buildings that have living gardens/plants on them, but I'm sure it's pretty much the same hassle. So I doubly, triply, quardruply (all real words I assure you) appreciate the efforts of the folks who chose to maintain these types of homes. And I hope the homeowners chose to acknowledge this appreciation by allowing me to hop out of my rental van, run up to the front of their house, position Ryan in front of it and snap a few pics of his squinty-eyed Japanese tourist 'smile.' ;-)

I am not sure if dogsledding as a tourist attraction is humane. Nor am I sure I can afford it (looks like it's close to $150 per person for the 1-hour ride) or tolerate it (I'm pretty sure that 5 min. into the ride, I'll be over it). Nonetheless, the idea of going dogsledding in Iceland sounds pretty darn sweet. So if it's not too far off of the beaten track and it's somewhere we can drive to (vs. cramming into a tour bus and taking a half-day tour), I would love Ryan to have this (eek, costly) experience if we can swing it!

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Indoor and outdoor Icelandic HOTPOTS!!!! Beaches are to Hawaii what hotpots are to Iceland (so sayeth the girl who's never been to Iceland), so if I have my way, I will be dipping into as many different ones as my body allows. Even though we live in a warm climate, I loooooove hot tubs and have great tolerance for them.

And no trip, even one at the tail end of summer there (late summer there is still in the 40s and 50s I believe) would be complete without a visit to a glacier. This one is called Jokulsarlon, which I'd imagine is as fun and easy to pronounce as our Hawaiian names like Kamakawiwo'ole or Kalanianaole.
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I think I also may have found a house for us to rent in a quiet suburb of downtown Reykjavik that should work out nicely in accommodating all 6 of us, and Rich has found a company that will rent us a minivan for about $175 a day (not bad for Iceland, but sheesh...for that price you'd hope that van comes lifted, with strobe lights underneath).

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But again, it's many moons away, so until then, we'll continue to enjoy the warmth of the islands. ;-)

2010...sorry to see ya go!

After a quick review of my journal (this is the where the real juicy stuff be at), I have to say, 2010 really was a pretty good one for our 'ohana! We...

• Hiked Kaloko Honokohau's 1871 Trail
• Pounded mochi for the first time at Waimea's Cherry Blossom Festival
• Camped at Kalopa State Park
• Went to the Kona Brewer's Festival for the first time
• I ran the Big Island International Half Marathon for the first time
• Went to NYC again and saw Dave, ate at Crumbs, went to Carlos' Bakery
• Went to San Diego & San Fran (twice) to see family and friends
• Saw Willie K in concert!
• Had a fun Elmo birthday party for Ryan's 2nd birthday!
• Got to see tons of visitors! Grammy K, the Huntingtons, Kathy, cousin JP, Dave & Cathy, & Joey
• Bought a house near the 'rents
• I ran the Kona Half Marathon for the second time
• Went ziplining for the first time
• Rich learned to stand up paddleboard
• Ryan started music class, swimming lessons and learned to horseback ride solo
• Went on two trips to Waikiki
• Bought a truck
• Met Neil Abercrombie and got to chat about political issues important to us
• Took Ryan to a pumpkin patch for the first time
• Hosted a surprise 60th birthday party for my mom
• We got a new (used) King-sized bed and a kick a** grill for my dad's birthday
• Went on a second trip to San Fran and saw John Muir giant redwoods and took Ry to see Thomas at Six Flags
• Got Ryan a discoball and DJ music station for Christmas (perhaps the best gifts for him ever)
• Rich got named as an Asst. Manager at work
• Got to help my littlest bro & his gf move into their first place together

I can't really say that I have any super specific plans yet for 2011 other than to:

• Plan the annual Camping Club trip to Kohanaiki (beach) with the three boys on Rich's birthday weekend in March (should be sandy, labor intensive and hot...can't wait....)!
• Lose a few (I'm pretty sure no one else wishes for this at the start of the new year)
• Go on our first international trip post-Rizzle to Iceland (the cruise to Canada, the 51st state, does not count)!
• Run my first marathon post-Rizzle (last one was while knocked up in '07)!
• Have a disco dance party for Ry's 3rd birthday! (only five months away!)
• Experiment more with baking mochi, gotta keep it real!
• Privatize the blog, and possibly shut down Facebook (soooo time sucking!)...so family, friends, secret lurkers...if you haven't already done so, please choose to follow it by signing up so you'll know what we're up to! Fast, free, anonymous if you'd like, and no spam!

Hauoli Makahiki Hou!!!

Happy New Year!!!

Judging from the Facebook status updates I saw over the past few days, 2010 was not a good year. But for us, it was pretty good! I have no complaints...other than I gained 8 lbs., but we all know whose fault that is (my parents).

We had one of the most chill New Years ever. The Eve was spent with a quick trip to the east side of the island (via beautiful Saddle Road) to help my youngest brother and his girlfriend move into their first place together! It was super fun helping them get organized and surprising them with a few things for their new place. Ry was an angel riding in his car seat for over four hours that day and never complaining once (for which he was rewarded with 10 chocolate M & Ms).

And for the first time ever, we chose to ring in the new year by sleeping through it (well, except for the ear popping, midnight blasting of fireworks right outside our bedroom door by my father)! Despite being pure Japanese, he insists on honoring the Chinese custom (for my mother, he says...wink wink) of popping firecrackers outside each corner of our house to scare away the evil spirits (which by the way, I'm not opposed to since I much prefer that they haunt and terrorize my neighbors than us). So thank you dad.

However, earlier that evening, Rizzle and daddy popped a few fireworks together from my father's ever present stash (please don't tell the Feds).




















Ryan much preferred to cheer Grandpa and daddy on from the safety of Grandma's lap, however. And I can't say that I blame him. I am no fan of fireworks. And I think after last night's multiple (minor) burns to Rich's foot and arm, Rich is less of a fan as well. ;-) Because of Rich's injuries, I was treated to the amazing smell of both burning flesh and the cool, soothing liquid of the aloe plant (very, very close to the scent of 13-year old teenaged boy's body odor if I do say so myself).

























Today (New Year's Eve) we did have a family get together with amongst other things, sushi and tempura. I made a more traditional Japanese dish (mochi), as well as a traditional white man's dish (Luscious Four-Layer Pumpkin Cake) for the white folk in the family. Thanks for the recipe, Mel!

In the interest of avoiding cliches and broken promises, I've decided not to summarize 2010 or make any resolutions... However, I will say that life was, and continues to be very good. And for that, I am very grateful. I will no longer say that I am unworthy, or undeserving of such goodness, because Oprah says that's just patently ridiculous, and we all know ain't nobody smarter than Oprah Winfrey.

PS- One change you can probably expect to see this year is that I will make this blog private in the near future... I.e.- if you'd like to see it, you will have to register as a follower with Google. It's free, easy and quick. I just think that with all the pictures and videos that I post of my family and our son on this webpage, that I should probably not leave it wide open for the whole wide world to see. However, if you register now as a follower of the site (just click on the little gray button at the top of the webpage that says Follow and opt to follow publicly), I'll make sure you're able to see it.

Aloha and Hauoli Makahiki Hou!

Jolene