Kung Hay Fat Choy

People born in the Year of the Ox are patient, speak little, and inspire confidence in others. They tend, however, to be eccentric, and bigoted, and they anger easily. They have fierce tempers and although they speak little, when they do they are quite eloquent. Ox people are mentally and physically alert. Generally easy-going, they can be remarkably stubborn, and they hate to fail or be opposed. They are most compatible with Snake, Rooster, and Rat people.


1913, 1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009


Chinese New Year is a big-dang deal in Hawaii. Unfortunately we did not go downtown for the parade or fireworks. Boo.

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Here's some more stuff I Didn't/ Don't Want To Do


I really should be working on the school year book. I just don't want to.

I could go running, as it is 11 am and I am still in my short-shorts and tennis shoes. But it's a little chilly and drizzly out. I think it may warm up in a bit. Putting on a long sleeve shirt would be too much work.

Mopping is also on my list. But I need some ammonia. And mop and glow. My neighbor just gave me a recipe for stripping the ugly high-school-tiles that make up the floor of all the twin homes in our military housing area. These tiles are dull and dirty. If I had one of those awesome spinning floor polishers usually found at hospitals, I would totally use it. ("Don't fight it, Don't fight it" - Mary) Maybe tomorrow. I promise not to mix with bleach.

The month is almost over and I should go Visiting Teaching. But I never made appointments. Friday might work...

I'm not sewing. I bought some cute red fabric to make this apron. But my sewing area is bombed out. And I don't want to have to clean up the craft supplies to get to my sewing machine.

And I'm not taking the stinkin' Beginning Ukulele Class, either. I found out yesterday that it is cancelled due to lack of interest. Maybe more people will be interested in June...

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That was a downer of a list. To end on an up-note...

Emily is making a list of homophones for homework this week. Words like

two

&

to

&

too.

or

hear

&

here.

While we were looking up the spelling of hoarse (not to be confused with horse), I thought of a funny thing John said a few months ago. John has a friend named Will. He loves Will. He would play at Will's house every day, if he could. Will is a good sport and plays well with John, even though he is a bit older than John. He also plays well with Emily. He's just a great kid to have around.

Anyway, one day John learned about Whales in school.

After school, John told me that there are two Whales:

Whales in the ocean.

and his friend Will !!!



John really does pronounce Will's name like Whale.

Will doesn't seem to mind.

He's cute like that.


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Happy Chinese New Year!


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This and That

Nathan is building another Ukulele. He's got the body all formed and is working on the fret board today. It has been so interesting to see it coming together.

Steam bending the sides in the kitchen.


Hannah picked up my Uke yesterday and it turns out she knows how to play. I know she can play the guitar, but I was surprised to hear that she can play the ukulele with more of a Hawaiian sound. She says lots of kids at school play the ukulele, and it is not uncommon to see (and hear) local kids playing while walking between classes.


I am going to start a beginning ukulele class this Thursday night. I'm a little nervous.


I had a great run this morning. 6 miles. I ran six miles last Saturday down on Hickam AFB and thought I was going to die on the last mile. Today I ran from our house up toward Kole Kole Pass. The first 3 miles slightly up hill. Then down hill all the way home. I did not feel like I was going to die. That's improvement!


We watched City of Ember last night for movie night. Sydney and I recently read the book. The book was really good. I liked the look of the city in the movie, but I fell asleep before it ended, so I'm not sure how it all worked out.


I always fall asleep during family movie night. Reminds me of my dad. Snoring away during the movie....


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today's run: 6 miles
this week: 15.5 miles
this month: 45.5 miles

Book Talk

I have had NO books to read. None. Nada. okay. We have a few books here, and I have had fun re-reading middle grade books with Sydney, but I needed something new. So last week I went online to see if our library carries Hannah Coulter so I can join the Hannah Coulter Book Club For Copy Cats.

It was not a surprise to find that indeed, our library does NOT carry that book. or any others on my list.

I hate that.

Our base library is okay. The people who work there are friendly. They have books. Just not a wide variety, and not a lot of new new releases. Except movies. They do have lots of new movies. And video games. Sydney was watching for a book that was in the "in-processing" category for over a YEAR! ggrrrrr.I have found it best to browse best sellers and award winners from 2005 or earlier.

So I ordered Hannah Coulter from the nearest bookstore. Which is also small. It's not in yet. I'm going to check today, when I head out, to see if it has arrived.

I did go to the library yesterday, and came home with several books. Yeah for a pile of books, even if they weren't on my list. I feel almost anxious if I have nothing to read.

So I started reading A Great and Terrible Beauty last night and it was so scary! I had a hard time going to sleep and kept hearing scary sounds. Good thing Nathan is home! I have to finish that book today, before it gets dark...

What are you reading?

Happy Inauguration Day!

Did you know the inauguration broadcast here at 7am! Very exciting! Did you watch? or attend? or sleep in?

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The holidays are long gone, but my holiday mess was lurking in our storage closet. Five odd-shaped boxes of ornaments and decorations, and seven grocery bags of lights were taking over!



Thanks to the challenge over at Spouse Buzz, and a storm that wasn't, I got motivated and tackled the mess. I sorted out a few sad ornaments and moved the rest into 3 easy to store containers.



One with just lights. One with just ornaments. One with decorations and Christmas books. (and one with the shivers)

This will hopefully make it easier next year to find just the items I need. Anything to make next Christmas easy is a good thing, since we will be moving around the holidays.

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Today's run: 3 miles
This week: 6.5 miles
This month: 36.5 miles

Storm's a Brewin'

School was cancelled (does canceled have one l or two?) because of possible big winds today. That seems kind of odd to me, to cancel school because of a maybe storm.

We've had some wind and the rain has come in, but mostly we're just lounging around in our pj's wondering if we have any treats to snack on... This guy, though, lost his roof in the storm last night.



I'll find a way to send a message if the storm gets bad!

Honu

We went to the beach on Saturday and made a new friend.



He was just laying out, catching some rays.



I think he just winked at me. Or maybe he fell asleep. It was very relaxing on the beach, with the waves rolling in.



It was a little overcast and I didn't feel like swimming. We had gone to the beach the night before and I wasn't actually interested in being at the beach. I'm sad to say that I was grouchy. I hate that. Grouchy at the beach is unusual for me. Grouchy when we get home and I find a beach sized pile of sand next to the bathtub is more common.

Hanging out with a few turtles made me feel a little better.

Ali'i beach is a great spot to see turtles. There is a beach further along the North Shore called "turtle beach". Bus loads of tourists stop there to see the turtles. There are even volunteers who stand near the turtles and make sure visitors don't harrass them. I'm surprised they don't sell turtle t-shirts. It is a busy beach.

This beach is not busy, but we see turtles here all the time. Plus there is good parking, and bathrooms. Important things.


+ # + # + # + #

School is back in today. The kids were home for about a month for winter break. We didn't do anything too exciting, but it was nice . Lots of sleeping in and playing outside and going to the beach. It is nice to be back to a regular schedule.

Nathan's online masters program is back, too. Which means evening computer time is a hot ticket item. I fell asleep last night to the lullabye of the professor's lecture.

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running log
today: 4 miles
this week: 11.5
this month: 24.5

Fish Lips

I'm entering this photo of Sydney's fish lips in a photo-blog contest at I heart faces.

Check out the competition, or enter yer own mug here:




I wonder if they'll have a pet competition...

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running log
today's run: 2.5 miles
this week: 7.5 miles
this month: 20.5 miles

To Do 2009

I love To-Do lists. I keep little lists all over the place. Lists of books I want to read. Lists of things I need to remember to not forget. Lists of groceries. Lists of stuff for Nathan to do.


I like to think of New Year's Resolutions as the mother of all To-Do lists. I think I did pretty ding-dang good last year with my list of goals. Woohoooo for no car payment!


With just one year left in Hawaii, my goal list for 2009 revolves around making the most of our time here.


Learn to Surf
Go whale watching
Go to the Kona Temple
Have family photos taken on the beach
Hop to Guam
Hike the Haiku Stairs
Read, Pray, Smile everyday
Keep a reading log
Keep a running log
$ave $ome $$$
Work on Food Storage
Try one new recipe a month



That should about do it.

Do you set New Year's Resolutions?
Is there something that you are particularly proud of accomplishing from last year?

It's Aloha Friday

Look who came to visit! I'll admit, I screeched when I saw this warty guy hanging out behind the door. This bufo seems to live nearby. I wasn't sure what it was, so I looked it up:

"If you see a toad in Hawaii, it's most likely a toxic Bufo Toad. These toads are easy to identify. A Bufo Toad has a dry warty hide that may be yellowish-green, olive-brown, reddish-brown or grey. Their heads are boney with ridges shielding their eyes. Bufo's bellies are pale with dark molting. These toads can be 4-9 inches long and can weigh up to 2 pounds.

Bufo Toads have toxic secretions that ooze from parotoid glands located on the back of their necks once they feel threatened. If one is squeezed there is a high probability that the venom will inject into its victim's eyes. The Bufo Toad will often arch his back in the direction of anyone that comes within close proximity." Read More Here

It may not have been a good idea to have let the kids hang around watching this guy all morning, but luckily none of the kids were poisoned. I have heard of dogs in the neighborhood getting sick and foaming at the mouth after biting a toad, though, so be careful....

I never did hear him say Rrribbit.

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I've been working on the yearbook all week, editing and uploading photos that I took at school in the fall. As I was searching for a photo last night, I came across this:

The perfect picture for an Aloha Friday

Shaka, Sydney!

which reminds me of a little girl in our ward. She is about 2 and a half years old with long long black hair. Her dad is in the Bishopric, and every Sunday she tries to break away from her mom as they walk into the chapel and run run run up to say hi to her dad at the front of the chapel. Last week she came zooming up the aisle, waving her little hand with thumb and pinky out, yelling "shaka daddy, shaka!"



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One of my goals for the new year is to keep a (slow mom) running log. I'll post it at the bottom of blog entries on occasion, unless I can find a handy widget to track it for me.

Today's Run: 3.5 miles
This week: 12 miles
This month: 18 miles

Happy Aloha Friday!

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15 years

Come my love, I'll tell you a tale
of a boy and girl, and their love story,

and how he loved her oh, so much,

and all the charms she did possess.

Now this did happen once upon a time
When things were not so complex.

My love is like a Storybook story
But it's as real as the feelings I feel.

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Dear Me

Dear Computer,

Please please please let me upload those photos from the new mixer vs. old mixer smack-down and New Years Eve at the beach. Pretty please!

Your old friend,
W

Dear Hannah's little cute camera,

I heard that the humid salty air of Hawaii was hard on delicate electronics like yourself, but one year seems like such a short life to me. Is there something we could do to convince you to stick around a little longer? Aren't we cool enough for you? We will miss you!

Signed,
Hannah's Mom

Dear Edward,

You were rather yummy in your debut movie, though I think you got a little carried away with your hair. Tell Bella "Hi" for me.

Swooning, even though I still like Jacob better,
W

Dear Kidos,

We have 10 more days of winter vacation. What do you wanna do? Wash windows? Clean the blinds? Go whale watching?

Love,
mom

Dear Wahiawa 2nd Ward,

I love 8:30am church! We were home before I would have even gotten everyone dressed for church last year. Yippee for an afternoon nap and time after church to have friends over for dinner!

Your,
Sister B

ps - could you please tell the RS that it is cruel to pass out giant sized candy bars on fast Sunday, even if they do come with this year's lesson schedule.


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