Tide Pools

Took the kids and some friends here yesterday afternoon. It was beautiful in a cloudy day kind of way. I have more pictures on flickr.

Kealani's Kona Coffee....We have a winner!

Kealani randomly picked a number between one and six. She picked the number 3 which was lovely little lovelies. I will be sending her 8oz. Fancy Grade 100% Kona Coffee beans ASAP.

I am not sure about the label, it might change a little when I have time to play with it.

If you would like to order some Fancy Grade 100% Kona Coffee in 8oz. bags for $15.00 each, or 8oz. of Fancy Grade 10% Kona Coffee for $7.00 each. Shipping is approximately $6.35 per 8oz bag for Priority Mail. I will be able to give a huge discount for the shipping on orders over a hundred dollars.

Etsy Buy Handmade spetropoullakis

Amanda Peet, and her stylish feet

Amanda Peet has nice shoes. As a matter of fact, I like her chiffon dress and chunky bracelet too. Peet was on her way to the David Letterman Show.

Seeing this picture today did remind me of what she said about parents who don't vaccinate, in Cookie magazine this month. "Parasites" was the word she used.

Peet did offer an apology today, but I am not convinced. We all know that drugs are big money, so I wonder how much money she is getting to endorse multiple vaccines before the age of two?

Well folks, the coffee finally came:-)You can still comment for a free bag of 100% Kona coffee here. I just need to put labels on them, and will have Kealani pick the winner next week.

The Book That Transforms Nations, the power of the Bible to change any country

Here is a book I have been reading. It is so very encouraging to be reminded of how God's Word is living and active. I am not finished with it yet, but will soon. It has been a faith builder. It is written by Loren Cunningham, the founder of Youth With A Mission.

Summer Fun

The Boy Scouts are having lots of fun this Summer.

Sourdough cheddar cheese biscuits

First Preheat oven to 375 and lightly oil cookie sheet.
Ingredients:
2 1/4 C flour
1 tea. baking powder
1/2 C butter
3/4 C grated cheddar cheese
2 C sourdough starter
In a bowl, cut butter into flour, then mix in baking powder.Dump in sourdough starter and cheese. Mix quickly and gently,folding over several times. Make a disk on the cookie sheet, and cut into 8 wedges. Bake for 35-40min. I turned up the heat to 400F toward the end. It should get slightly golden. This would be really yummy with eggs and bacon.

To hell with the gas prices, I will walk.

"Give a girl the right shoes, and she can conquer the world." — Marilyn Monroe

These lovely little sandals, make me think of Summer,beaches, and walking in Waikiki.


I don't drive when I stay in Honolulu. My kids love taking the bus, and love to walk. Along Waikiki beach there are restaurants,shops,coffee,smoothies,white sand,turquoise blue ocean,racket ball, and tennis courts,surf shops,Banana Republic,Gucci,The Honolulu Zoo, Nine West,The Waikiki Aquarium,flowers,palm trees,green grass,benches in the shade,and lots and lots of Japanese tourists.

Chocolate peanut butter banana wrap

Kids love them, and they are good for you too. Better yet, kids can make them for you.
Ingredients:
1 banana
organic peanut butter
organic chocolate chips
1 tortilla (preferably whole grain)

Place the tortilla in a small non stick pan and warm over a medium flame. Flip the tortilla, and place desired amount of chocolate chips on the tortilla. They should start to melt very quickly. Place on a plate and add the rest of the ingredients.

Andreas the Greek

Here is Andreas when he was in the Cypriot Army.

http://www.myheritage.com/collage

MyHeritage: Celebrity Collage - Free family tree maker - Free family history
Unknown until now, is the fact that I married Andreas because of his striking resemblance to Harry Houdini.
Happy Birthday!I love you.

Birthday wishes from Hawaii to London

This picture was taken at Nicole's Pub, which no longer exists.
Happy Birthday Phil!

Recycle Hawaii!

I just realized that the way I dispose of my garbage is really borderline obsessive. A friend was talking about taking garbage to to dump in her old car so she won't get her new van dirty. For some reason, I started to tell her how I sort and dispose of my garbage, and I think I opened a window on my personal life that maybe I should have kept secret?

I have two compost bins, and two composting worm bins. I have my plastic,glass, metal, and my paper garbage.Some paper garbage we burn in our yard, and some of it I feed to my compost worms. I also separate kitchen scraps that are meat products, and keep them in my freezer in a ziplock bag(which was recycled). Leftover dairy products are fed to the chickens.

Recycling is not mandatory in Hawaii, but it also does not have to be as complicated as I have made it. Genesis 1:28 says we should "replenish" the earth, not fill it with plastic.

There is a floating vortex of garbage the size of Texas here in the Pacific ocean.Ok, stop, and re-read that last sentence. Yes,there is a garbage patch the size of Texas floating in my ocean, and I am not happy about it.

I am not going to accept any guilt for it, and please don't get me wrong, I am not saying you should feel guilty either. I am just doing my part. I am doing my best to be a good citizen of the beautiful earth that God gave for me to enjoy.

If you live in Hawaii, you don't have to recycle, you have the freedom to choose. Please use your freedom wisely.
Mahalo!

In case you were wondering what to do on Wednesday night

We have a lovely Kava Bar(Bay Front Kava,Coffee and Tea) here in Hilo, and on Wednesday nights the Scottish bagpipe band called "Dogwatch" plays all sorts of music, on instruments they make themselves. Andreas took me there last Wednesday, and we really enjoyed it. I think I need to get Andreas a kilt.

In Style look of the day

This is Lake Bell at a Ports 1961 party in L.A. I love her beige shift with that bright vintage Givenchy belt, a clutch from Bird, and her red Miu Miu pumps are fabulous!
If you spend $336.00 on hot red pumps does that mean they won't put your toes in a tourniquet?

Gas Prices and press on nails in 2008

We had a lovely Fourth of July. The weather was perfect,Andreas lit the fireworks and bar-b-qed,the pool was refreshing, and there was plenty of food. I marinated about 12 pounds of spare ribs, made The Barefoot Countessa's July 4th cake, and my mom's recipe for green mango pie.Hmmm. Auntie Gina brought these chocolate chocolate chip cheesecake cupcakes were so good, you might commit some sort of serious crime to get a second helping.

For fun, I got some "patriotic" press on nails at Clair's for $2.00. Press on nails are not exactly what I remember when I was a kid. When I was a kid, they fell off a few hours after you stuck them on, or when you buttoned your jeans,whichever came first.
I put them on thinking I would take them off that night or maybe the next day if I was lucky.

Here I am on July 8th and I am still wearing 6 of them. All ten would still be on if I did not try to rip them off last night. I soaked them in fingernail polish remover first and then when I ripped them off they also took the top layer of my real nail with them and tore them down to the quick.

I wanted to take them off on the night of July 4 but they were stuck on there so good,I was standing in my bathroom contemplating which was worse: stabbing myself in the eye while taking out my contacts, or ripping my nails out.

I also must admit, I am a little OCD in a few areas. One has to do with my nails. I wanted to rip them off that night #1 because they are unsanitary. #2 because they looked a little bubbly from the glue in spots. #3 because I had to poke myself in the eyeball in order to get my contacts off. In my brain, #1 and #2 are almost equal.
#3 would not bother me so much if I was not so worried about an infection of the eye while poking my eye out.

Now, as I type I am constantly aware that my nails do not match, and that bothers me more than the fact that it is so much harder to type with obnoxiously long nails.

I read the warning label on the press on nails, and it does not say anything about how this product could damage the tops of your real nails and rip them down to the painful quick. It does say, DANGER:Bonds to eyes and nails in seconds.
It should say, DANGER:You will not recognize your own hands after applying this glue.Glue is impervious to nail polish remover, dish washing, gardening, and nuclear war.

On a happier note, I noticed that regular gasoline is $4.48 a gallon today. I have a strange reaction to the new gas prices. Ask my kids if you don't believe me. It all started when gas hit the $4.00 mark. I will be driving innocently, and if I look up at a gas station sign, and the price has gone up, I cringe uncontrollably. I have a hard time describing how I feel,but it is kind of like a cross between that feeling when you get the chills and that queasy feeling you get when you are about to throw up.
I wonder if I am alone, or if other people are experiencing this syndrome.

On the positive side, I live in Hawaii, I have my health,and my family, so I guess I should not complain right?

Independence Day

Happy 4th of July!

Homeschooling and the Suzuki Method

I took this photo just before their last piano recital for the school year. It was June 3 and they did very well. Their teacher uses the Suzuki Method. I really like it. When I was a kid and I would learn by ear, my piano teacher would get annoyed, but with the Suzuki Method, learning by ear is actually encouraged.

That said, when I compare myself to some of the other "Suzuki Parents" I feel like a dead beat mom. Suzuki parents are very involved in every aspect of their child's music experience. You must attend all classes, and sit with your child through practice every day and learn all the pieces with your child. We record lessons, and listen to pieces on CD in the car, and at home. I must confess I don't know how to play Musette, and that gives me twinges of guilt. Kealani plays it like a pro though.

This Summer we are going thorough the "Classical Kids" curriculum, and I am enjoying it. It sat on my "home school bookshelf" for 3 years because I was kind of intimidated by it. I wanted to be able to devote time to plan it out and do it right. So far we have studied Vivaldi and Handel. I know more about Vivaldi,Venice,Handel, and Georgian London than any ignorant American should. I even know what color Vivaldi's hair was.

I have been homeschooling for 4 years now. I am still learning, and feel like I don't know what I am doing half the time. 7th grade kind of scares me. My son just finished 6th and my daughter just finished 3rd. I am a BIG fan of Saxon Math. I don't make them do the tests and all the extra stuff though because Saxon is really good about reviewing everything constantly. Other than Saxon Math, Suzuki Piano, and Tae Kwon Do,Boy Scouts,and horseback riding, they journal, do essays,and read really good books with excellent vocabulary.

I really love the book series "What your ___Grader should know". I have all of them up to grade 6. We read discuss and essay about many subjects. I try to let them study things that they love because my #1 goal for homeschooling is that they come away with a love of learning.