I Got a Dyson!!

Now I'm gonna be the best housekeeper ever!!



Thanks Casey and family. Your gift card helped to defray the cost.

McDonalds' Oatmeal

I know oatmeal is supposed to be really good for you . . . lowers cholesterol and all . . . but I hate it.  I had heard that McDonalds' oatmeal was really good though, so when Landon called after his graveyard shift and asked if I wanted something from McDonalds I asked for him to get me an oatmeal.



I thought it would have less calories . . . 'cause don't those Lean Cuisine meals have like 300 calories in um?


I opened the cover and saw this . . . Ewwwww.  It didn't look good at all.


I stirred it up. Okay, that's better.   I took a bite.  Ewwwww.  So tasteless.


So I added some brown sugar, cinnamon and macadamia nuts.  I finished the whole thing!  Hahahaha.


Need your opinion.  Does this photo look more appetizing than the previous?  Does it even make a difference to you? 

Prime and Estria in Commericials

I am so stoked that these uber-talented graffiti artists who devote endless hours helping out the community get to showcase their works on these commercials!

Prime - Hawaiian Telcom Commercial


Estria - Ford Fiesta Commercial

Yosh's Blueberry Cream Cheese Dessert

Yosh said that this was sooo easy to make.  It was sooo ono too.  I lucked out 'cause by the time I got to work today, there was only one left!

Combine one 8 oz. block of cream cheese with 3/4 c. sugar, 1 tsp. vanilla and 2 eggs.  Line muffin tin with cupcake liners.  Place one nilla wafer at the bottom of each liner, add cream cheese mixture and top with Comstock blueberry filling. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.  Makes about 15.  Yosh said that it'll deflate a bit after it cools, but that's normal.

CQ's Family

I've been wanting to take pictures of CQ's family for awhile now, and we were finally able to get together yesterday.  Connor was constantly on the go, so getting him to be still for some of these shots was short of miraculous. It's amazing how much energy little kids have.  Thanks for meeting with me guys!  Rest up until next time!

Ailey - Almost 9 months

HAPPY EASTER!!

Kayla

I think senior shoots are now my favorite, favorite thing.  I had such a good time taking pictures of Kayla at Kahala Beach Park today.  I hadn't been to Kahala Beach in a long time, and I really didn't have a game plan, but the conditions were awesome with the sun in perfect position and the winds juuuust right. Not to even mention that beautiful Kayla made things so easy.   Thank you so much Kayla and Paul for giving me the opportunity. 

Our Bird Visitor

Several times a day this bird comes tap, tap, tapping on our window. I've read that it's a territorial thing and that he thinks his reflection is another bird. I think it's cute and look forward to his visits. Wendell thinks it's annoying and throws socks at it.  Does anybody know what kind of bird it is?

My Avocado Plant

About four years ago someone gave us an avocado that was especially ono.  So I poked a few toothpicks into its seed and hung it over a bowl of water.  I was surprised when about a week later it sprouted.  It continued to grow with roots going downward and stalk extending skyward.  The roots got so long that I had to transfer the seed to a trimmed water bottle. It thrived. But being very green-thumbless I had no clue what to do with it as it started to outgrow the water bottle.  I finally decided that I'd better plant the thing, so I bought some dirt and a plastic pot.


I so didn't know how to take care of it, but every morning when I let Kona out to do his business I'd pour a big cup of water into the pot. Except for transferring it to a bigger pot and adding a little more soil, that's all I've ever done.  There were many times that I thought it would die . . . when the leaves turned brown at the edges and it looked like the brownness was spreading . . . or when it looked dried out . . . or when it seemed as if it had just stopped growing.  Yet it's still hanging in there.


Lately, now that Spring is upon us, there's been all this sprouting action happening.




Pretty amazing to me.


I should probably transfer it to the ground, but I can't.  Wendell's dad wouldn't like that.  We used to have four plumeria trees, but he had them all chopped down so that he wouldn't have to take care of the rubbish they created.


He even asked me once if I knew of anybody who would want the avocado plant.  I thought, "Yeah, me." Anyway, my friend Linda said that avocado trees can get huge, and I've read that the roots can push up concrete.  So I guess it's just as well that I keep it potted.   Next post I'll show you another Spring happening . . . a visitor who comes tapping on our window several times a day.

The Rhema Marvanne Story

Didi shared this with me.   If you haven't heard of Rhema yet, be prepared to meet an amazing little girl.

No Pudge Fudge Brownie

Coworker Anne shared some of her No Pudge Brownies with us.  It's made with yogurt!   I was shocked that it tasted good.  Guess what . . . you can get a 6 pack at Amazon for $17.08, almost the same price as the Dassant mixes.





Isn't Leslie's jacket so cute!!

Pineapple Tart - Second Try

When my Manju with Pineapple Filling partly failed, Winnie provided me with a Pineapple Tart recipe to try. Thanks Winnie!!  I decided kinda at the last minute to make it yesterday.  It made 24 pieces of which there're only 2 left right now.  People liked it.  The crust was different . . . powdery . . . sorta like the Filipino Polvarone that's usually made with powdered milk.



Top left: Sift together 2 1/2 c. flour, 1/4 tsp. salt, 4 tbs. powdered sugar and 2 tbs. cornstarch.
Lower left: Cook 2 cans (20 oz each) of well-drained crushed pineapple and 10 tbs. of sugar. Let cool in 'fridge.
Right:  Soften 2 blocks butter to room temperature.  Add 2 egg yolks.


Add flour mixture to the butter/egg yolk mixture and knead to form the dough.  I divided the dough so that I could kinda gauge the 24 pieces (3 from each group).


I sorta divided up the filling too so that I could tell to put about this much in each tart.  This dough was so much easier to work with than my other made-up recipe. 


Look at that.  Isn't it beautiful?   You're supposed to put an egg wash on it too, but again I decided not to, mostly because I was too lazy by this time.


Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes and take pictures when pau.


Runa who told me about the Indonesian dessert Nastar that her grandma used to make, was the first to try it at work. She said it tasted just like her grandma's!


Tiare who brought the Big Island Manju that started this whole thing tried next.  She said it was good, but to hemo (leave out) the cornstarch next time.


I'm so glad that Les was at our King Street office today, so she got to try it too.