Bristol's Baby Tripp

So Bristol Palin allegedly had her baby ( no one from the immediate family has confirmed it) and named it Tripp.

From urbandictionary.com:

Tripp
To engage in sexual intercourse with, usually while drunk or out of pure infatuation. Another word for having sex.
She got drunk and tripped with him after the party.

you're welcome =-)

Marley and Me

life is so upside down sometimes.
we went to see marley and me
a great movie about relationships
and dogs
it was happy and in the end sad
made me want to come home and snuggle the dogs
and plead with them not to die too soon....
it was all HAPPY DOGGY BLISS UNTIL....
somehow they got a huge piece of beef
we won't go there
not sure who to blame
so have you ever heard two tibetan spaniels
two 16 pound dogs have a go at a huge- to them- piece of meat
not pretty
i ask you, if you had to eat the same boring food every day of your LIFE

wait for a walk
wiat for a scratch
wait for a bitch
life
if a huge piece of BEEF
somehow fell into your universe
would you try to kill your
hanai brother for it?
yeah I thought so
only problem is the humans in this scenario
not thinking so clearly
screaming
scratches
threats
to send both dogs to "the farm"

wow we really didn't
leaarn anything from " marley and me"

I am snugling both dogs as we speak
they look at me
yes you can stay
everyone has a bad day.
===

Perfect Day

Here's a post a wrote a few days ago when we were staying at our favorite place on the North Shore.

The perfect day.
Here’s what I have learned in 15 years of parenting
Everybody has a different idea of what a perfect day looks like
When you have teenagers
Being flexible is key
So here is what it looks like
Dad up early , he gets to have his coffee and read the paper with the
Added bonus of watching dolphins off shore
Early bird gets the dolphin
Girl second up
Daddy makes the chocolate chip waffles before I can say NO
And girl gets first dibs on TV
Next, girl jumps in bed
Mom look at the ocean doesn’t that make you happy?
Yessssssssss!
Breakfast
The kind you only give yourself permission to have when
Everything is right in the world
BACON, EGGS (not egg whites), and POOOTAAATOES( I love me my potatoes, I could go to war for potatoes ask anyone that knows me).
Yum and juice.
Full stomach and lots of beach to cruise.
The north shore is one of my absolute favorite places.
Surfers, body boarders, paddle boarders, sun bathers, life guards, tourists, locals teaching kids to surf in waves I wouldn’t swim in….

The boy up way past noon
The ocean calls
The girl to the boy
Will you keep me safe?
Yes
The sets come in 6-8? (at least it looked that big to me) but if you are floating in the right place it’s like a gentle roller coaster ride
I’m on the shore breathing, practicing, letting them try out those wings

Sunshine
Sunset
Friends
Love
Perfect.

Blackout

Oahu was very dark last night. We lost power at 6:30pm we were lucky to be home and not at a mall.
Actually that is not luck, it's smarts, who goes shopping the day after Christmas?
Anyway, lots of people had a difficult way making it home with no street lights, no traffic lights and lots of traffic.
We finished our dinner on the grill, lit the candles and listened to Perry and Price. So funny to listen to what people say when they call in. Who are Perry and Price you say?



Here's their official bio:
They may be an unlikely pair – Michael W. Perry, a former Naval officer, now an actor, television personality, and executive producer and host of Hawaii’s longest-running local television show, “The Hawaiian Moving Company,” and Dr. Larry Price, a national award-winning journalist, martial arts expert, former L.A. Ram, former coach of the University of Hawaii Rainbows football and volleyball teams, part-time college professor, and a recipient of the University of Hawaii’s Distinguished Alumni Award – but when they’re on together, the sparks fly.

The have the number one radio show in Hawaii.
But really they are the guys on the corner- that are in the know.
When there is an emergency Perry and Price always find a way to get on the air. They did it in 2006 after the earthquake, when there was little information getting out they got on the air. People called in asking questions or sharing experiences. All kinds of people haole, hapa, phillipino, japanese, samoan,tongan,local, the mayor, the governor and that's how we find out what's going on when the usual methods are not available.
Last night they were the source of information and speculation once again.

One of the best things about Perry and Price is they tell it like it is.

They had no trouble telling anyone complaining about how long it takes to get the power back on to get over it.

Hello, we live on an island in the Pacific ocean, 3000 miles away from the mainland, who do you think we get power from when the grid goes down?

The boy and the girl didn't have too much to complain about they still had some things to play with:

One is text messaging with the sidekick and the other is playing with Itouch.
Silly digital natives!

Christmas

I have to get a better camera or take a photography class. Probably both, so bear with me. Here are some pictures.
Oh and take pity on me I was sick for three days, the- everyone -out -no --waiting use all the exits!. kind of sick. Really it's a miracle I took any pictures on Christmas morning. But that's what you do when you have kids.
Five Minutes After The Girl Had Her First Piece of Chocolate

Charlie Brown Christmas Tree Decorated



Christmas Pajamas

Christmas In Hawaii

we have it so good it's almost shameful.........

Perfection

I relish (in the )moments when you have that feeling………
right here
right now
everything in the world is just perfect……………
We’re so lucky to live in a place where the perfect backdrop is always in place.
Perfect weather cue,
Perfect company cue,
Beautiful sunset cue
Crashing waves cue,
Overflowing love from my heart, cue….
Rolling…………
Let’s lay on the hammock and look at the stars,
Love you mommy,
hold on to that
hold on to that,
Laughter, funny wii games
Hold on to that,
Boy resting his shoulder on your shoulder and snuggling,
hold on to that,
hold on to that,
Love looking at you with a knowing glance,
We’re counting down these kinds of moments
Hold on to that
hold on to that
Sharing hammocks,
Swinging
Loving
Looking for
shooting
Stars
Hold on ,
Hold on,
in your heart,
press “Save As….” Perfect,
heart is full,,,, save to desktop for easy reminder.
squeezing the love out of every moment counting the precious moments that we get to hold you in our arms, in our presence.
They
Are
Just
Too
Few.

What if your life could have a soundtrack????

From ThinkGeek.com

Does your life seem dull and uninteresting compared to the drama and action of movies and television? Here at ThinkGeek Labs™ we've examined this phenomenon carefully. With the bevy of reality TV shows and humdrum movies we quickly decided that what people do in real life is NOT significantly less exciting than what fictional characters on the screen experience... but for some reason, real life just SEEMS much more boring. However, after days of extensive highly-scientific double blind testing we were able to discover the difference... Background Music! Your real life experiences just don't have the needed dramatic soundtrack to back them up. Whether you're brushing your teeth, walking your dog or chatting up that cute girl in chemistry class you need the appropriate music and sound effects to enhance the experience. Fortunately we've developed the solution for this irritating life boredom problem with the Personal Soundtrack Shirt.



Stay tuned for our videos....

Grandpa's Smiling

Listen to what the boy found for me.
imagining my Dad's Irish (blue) eyes sparkling.

Little Drummer Boy - The Almost

You Tube Love

If you have dogs you can't help but laugh at this:


I know I'm simple and you've probably seen this before, but I dare you not to laugh, and if you don't , you have a heart of stone.

Let The Shopping Begin

RANDOM PICTURE OF BUDDY TO MAKE YOU FEEL HAPPY...


So I snapped out of my CHRISTMAS DENIAL today.
Here's how the day started.
Boy sleeping til noon , girl gone.
Time for a Christmas Strategy meeting .
I resist.
Don't want to come face to face with the crazy amount of money we pretend not to spend .

See, the guy I married has NINE siblings. And then we have my family not so big but still.

And then there is the hanai family ...which is so important when you live on an island, they are your family.
(it's a little hard to define what hanai means, and do it justice. To put it brief, hanai means adopted, but it's so much more)

Here's the problem: I wish I had an "Oprah's Favorite Things" budget.

I'm lucky to have so many people I love in my life.

It gets challenging to slice the- a little less than Oprah's budget-
into so many pieces.

Maybe this can go a little way......
here's what I would really like to do, give you the love and validation you deserve, take away all your financial worries, guarantee good health into your nineties, protect you from heartbreak.
WAIT.
looking back on that list I see things I have had to live through which actually changed me.
Painful but for the better.
Here's a new list...
May you wake up every morning
difficult day or not, and take a moment to find the beauty.
I wish for you the gift of presence.
If you find yourself upset , ask "is that about yesterday, tomorrow or right now?"
if it is about right now, surely you can find some beauty in the moment , because lets face it you didn't just get back from Iraq.
At least I hope not.
Personal inner peace is really the greatest gift and with that we would all be incredibly Rich.

No pun intended.
He, He, it's and inside joke.

Validation

Just for the record, validation will get you everywhere with me.
And if you are reading my blog....You are, great,amazing, brilliant.


Winner Audience Award Hawaii international Film Festival

You Won' t Believe It

Last night for dinner I made soup using the following ingredients:




If you try this recipe I suggest you do it in secret, you don't want anyone knowing how easy it is, trust me.
First brown the onions with some olive oil. You can throw in a few garlic cloves for good measure if you like.
Next add a bag and a half of the Birdseye Ultimate Southwest Blend frozen veggies (you can use any frozen veggie blend that you like) and 1 1/2 (46oz) bottles of spicy V8. Cook on low heat until you start to smell it. Taste and if you would like it spicier add some hot sauce . Take the rotisserie chicken , cut up the meat and add to the soup, let cook for maybe 5 minutes. Serve with tortilla chips and grated cheddar cheese.
You can thank me later,
or give me some link love.

I Love Rock and Roll

My Early Musical Influences:




How I love music....I mean it really moves me, and as I've said before-- I've always wished that our every day life had a sound track.

I often have one running in the back of my mind, on any given day.
Somehow that ever present soundtrack has transferred to my children. There is always music in our house, so maybe that is the soundtrack I've been wishing for.
Both the boy and the girl have amazing voices. People have asked, "where does the voice come from?, and I've been known to say-" lots of prayer".
And by that I mean me saying, "God I wish I could sing, I'll trade almost anything for that." and I guess God said, "yeah that's not meant for you but how about two of your creations, serenading you? "
Wow that IS WAY better!!!

My love of music seems like it was always there, that's probably because I grew up in a house with lots of music.
I stole my dad's albums and was sometimes surprised at how cool he was, the Beatles. I remember finding that in my Dad's album collection and being really impressed. Another fond memory I have is my Father singing Johnny Cash on the back porch with my Uncle John playing fiddle.
Oh and there was Don Ho , Tiny Bubbles.
At this time of year I always think about my Dad cueing up the reel to reel player. He would break out that same ( what do you call it ? it's so anitquated now I don't even know tape thing. the reel with the music thing) The song I remember like it's happening right now .... Drummer boy ....

Come they told me, pa rum pum pum pum
A new born King to see, pa rum pum pum pum
Our finest gifts we bring, pa rum pum pum pum
To lay before the King, pa rum pum pum pum,
rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum,

So to honor Him, pa rum pum pum pum,
When we come.


When I was a teen and there were no portable music devices, no walk man, no portable cd players, no ipod, nano, itouch.

I know it makes you want to cry huh?
here is how I improvised:
lay on the floor,
one speaker on either side of head ( yeah, WHAT???, is my favorite word now),
blast music,
sing at top of lungs,
To Boehemian Rhapsody.
So funny because that is what the boy is learning on piano and blasting on his non- improvised- listening -device now.
It's like God is saying...
"Good things come to those who wait,
don't think I'm not listening."

And I SMILE.

Palin Deception

This makes a lot of sense to me. The first picture is the one releaased to the press the second one has been lightened with photo shop so that you can see the contrast between scarf and waistline.
This photo was taken on 3/14/2008, exactly 35 days before Gov. Palin allegedly gave birth to a six pound child. She was allegedly in her seventh month here, 31 weeks gestation. I'm not buying it? Scarier thought is who is to blame for the many lies associated with this. Was it the McCain campaign or Sarah Palin?

Puppies and Imposters

Bad Hair Day For Teddy

Imposter

This Family Is Crazy

Beautiful Mess

I think this is the most beautiful love song.


Lyrics | Jason Mraz lyrics - A Beautiful Mess lyrics

We've Got The Moves

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Thank you to my girl for creating this and to Hannah for the inspiration.

On Siblings

From Dooce.com
"Mostly, I am excited that this baby will have you as an older sister, and not just because you will both need someone to call to complain about the fact that your parents are nuts. Sure, there will be times when you'll both try to kill each other either through physical brutality or embarrassment, but I know that at some point this baby is going to look up to you and think you are the coolest thing that ever walked on the planet. And while there is no way to predict the lasting dynamic of a relationship between siblings, I can only hope that you will have with this one what I have with my own, a bond so strong that it doesn't even matter that we have nothing but our parents in common. They are lifelines, people who were there, who were witnesses to everything that made me who I am, and I am the same for them in return. Is the relationship perfect? No, but we all know that we would sacrifice anything for each other, and one of the many reasons we decided to have another child was to give you the possibility of that friendship."

this is a beautiful post makes me a bit sad about my sibling experience.

I'm feeling Grinchy about Christmas

So I always start out wanting Christmas to be minimal,practical....
and then at the last moment I get cought up in the,
opening presents is fun,
it's your right, movement.
And I SHOP and PUT TOO MUCH MONEY ON THE CREDIT CARD.

I think part of this may come from my Father .




I remember him always shopping at the last minute.
Christmas Eve-- he always bought my Mom beautiful, expensive, tasteful, clothes. He had them wrapped at the department store gift wrapping place.
The packages looked exquisite and I remember being proud behind him, as we marched into the house.
The" look what I got you parade, phew he pulled it off again parade."
Oh and there was usually the last minute gratuitous jewelery purchase.
My Mom had more than she could ever wear in a year.
Wait I digress here...
As a young girl I oogled it , really. I used to go through her jewelery box which was majorly off limits.
As a child I was not allowed in my parents bedroom.
PERIOD THE END!!
So it was a stealth mission to go check out Mom's jewelery,
OH, I coveted it. Maybe I saw that powerful love token of jewelery that my Father offered up on all the big occasions and I wanted some token of love from him too, one that had the urgency that I witnessed every Christmas Eve.

Something about the way my Father shopped at Christmas seems so chivalrous and old school to me and yet it is really endearing. Maybe I can look back at those times now , now that my parents are both partying in heaven, and see them more purely.
A pure expression of love , maybe an imperfect love, a love they both understood, but I didn't always understand . But now, hmm...... it makes a little more sense to me , I can see that was how they loved each other and it was just right for them.

It Burns

My son cursed at me the other day.

He said.....oh it's hard to be public about this , but in the interest of (sorta) full disclosure....

Wincing..... He said, "You're not a digital native."

Ouch that hurts . But here's paybacks, guess what CD he just bought with his OWN money?

Queen's Greatest Hits.

Payback is a biyatch.

Hmphh

Whenever I hear "we really need to....." I want to hit the deck, cover my ears, and say LALALALA.

BECAUSE "we" never means "we" it means ME.

Shouldn't there be penalties for illegal use of Pronouns?

People That Live in Glass Houses

I was reading a cute little blog of a cute little family. They named their kids CHRISTY, CAMERON, CONNOR, CARSON , CASEY and COOPER and I thought to myself .... "I hate when people name their kids with the same first letter that's so WASP" and then myself talked back and said " you are one of those people.""
oops.

Musicians tell UN to ban using songs as torture

I think torturing prisoners of war is unspeakable, did you know one method of torture being used at Guantanamo Bay is to play American pop music repeatedly for days?

Metallica, AC/DC, Britney Spears, Aerosmith and British singer-songwriter David Gray are among those whose songs are "blasted" at detainees in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay. And wait that's not it they play the "Barney " theme song too. Prisoners describe this type of torture as worse than physical torture.

Reprieve( www.reprieve.org.uk), a human rights charity is behind a campaign to stop this practice and is trying to get popular musicians involved. How would you feel if you knew your music was being used to torture people?

A Cure For The Economic Crisis

After looking at my empty bank account two weeks before Christmas, I thought this presented a great solution.

NATALIE PORTMAN & RASHIDA JONES Speak Out by Natalie Portman

Charlie Brown Christmas

So it's all about being green right? we live on an island , being green should be a no brainer.
In Hawaii our Christmas trees arrive by boat. The first shipment is usually around Thanksgiving.

Imagine that- trees on a boat, in a container for a week or two from the time they are cut, shipped by land, shipped by boat, and arrive in Honolulu.
Our first year here we bought a tree early thinking the trees would be the most fresh...

Next year we waited , closer to Christmas to get the last shipment.

No matter what --the house smells great for maybe, a week, and then there are needles for at least six months. REALLY, SIX MONTHS.
And it has nothing to do with my housekeeping skills, which really truth be told I don't take a lot of pride in.



Halemano Farms is a cool local venture. It was the retirement project of local agriculture executive Mike O'Brien. When he was a child in California, Mike and his family would go to a farm to pick a Christmas tree during the holidays. Years later, Mike decided Hawaii should have a Christmas tree farm too.
With the help of his son, Aaron, and one worker, Mike began planting Norfolk Pine trees in Whitmore Village on Oahu in 2002. He ultimately planted more than 15,000 Norfolk trees. Sadly, Mike passed away before he got to see families coming to the farm at Christmas. Mike's family continues to run the tree farm in his memory and they have been selling the trees to the public every year since 2005.
What a better way to start a green tradition- locally grown trees. Makes sense in so many ways, no transportation costs from the Mainland, support local agriculture, limit the threat of alien species from the mainland, sustainable agriculture............

sounds good right?
the girl -ewww they look like charlie brown christmas trees
the boy- they look bizarre
the girl -do they smell good
me - ummm smeill it when we get there
we get there
the girl-eww there's no smell
me- we'll spray it with somethig to make it smell good
the girl -that would be toxic
me- I'm triying to save the planet for your children
the girl- you're trying to ruin christmas


I love the Charlie Brown Christmas story
and that special little bare tree that made CB so happy
maybe I have a secret wish for a Charlie Brown Christmas
where simple little things
wiil make us happy



It's not that bad is it?
Stay tuned for Mom's Trying To Ruin Christmas Part 2--LED Lights "ewww they're white!!!!!!!!!" and cold

Love Letter -On Being Thirteen

When Daddy and I found out we were pregnant with you, we decided, when it was time to find out the sex of the baby we wanted to do something different . We asked the sonographer to write down boy or girl and seal it in an envelope. On the day of our wedding anniversary we would open the envelope, and find out whether the most amazing present any parent can ever receive was going to be a boy or a girl. On our anniversary we opened the envelope and here's what it said:

I have to say my first feeling was absolute terror. Don't take that the wrong way here's why: I was afraid you'd put me through what I put my Mother through. Mother -Daughter relationships are known to have some rocky times. As a Mother I had new perspective about what was "being a good Mom" and what I perceived to be ( at the time) her" being an evil mom." I think, in that one glimpse of our future, in my heart I knew we would have similar moments and it might be a long time before you looked back and realized-- being a good Mom is a tough job and nobody plans to do a bad job.

After the initial fear wore off it was pure joy. I was tired some days waiting for you to arrive , I ate ice cream Every Night. I KNOW-- you can't believe that because that is weird for me now. But I think it was the beginning of something. This person like me, but also very different, growing inside of me, changing me, changing who I would be forever.

Thanksgiving came and you were a few days overdue. We had a huge feast as always and I felt so gross afterwards I thought for sure you were going to push your way out that night but it was not meant to be...burp... I can still feel the idigestion.



I'm totally vain but I will take one for the team here.That's me with sharpie on my belly showing the date, two weeks before you were born.


The night you were born was magical. I had the best baby high. I knew better the second time around and I made sure we got to snuggle right away and nurse right away. When they had to take you just to give you the once over in the nursery they brought you back pretty quickly. I still remember what the nurse said "she sure has a lot of spirit."



It was snowing that night and I remember feeling the most amazing sense of peace. It's always so quiet when it snows , you nursed, we snuggled it had to be one of the most profound moments of my life.

Now you're thirteen, how did that happen so fast? How did we go from Maryland and Boris, to California, your green ribby and performing to Titanic to now. Hawaii-- you're a young woman things are changing.
Life , challenges, your beautiful voice, your sense of fashion, music, acting.

What's it like to be a young woman of 13 today?
So very different from when I was a girl. Cell phones, sidekicks, ichat, skype, youtube, disney channel, laptops, media everywhere, images I wasn't bombarded with, 24 hour tv. It's a whole new world, but we're in it together. I know there will be some times when it's not all o.k.. But I want you to know, no matter how hard a day it may be between us , have not doubt, at the end of the day I still love you just as much, more than on the first day our eyes met. When you are sleeping, as long as I can get away with it I'll come in and kiss you and whisper
"love you for always, like you forever as long as I'm living my baby you'll be"
Love you to infinity, Miss Nepenthe.

Going to states isn't all it's cracked up to be

Pre-race ritual:



Here's what he took home:


So he missed qualifying for states by tenths or hundredths of a second, which on some levels is heart breaking. But it's also an opportunity to show some real character. I'm so proud of how he handles disappointment. He knows what mistakes he made and he doesn't dwell on them. He's forgiving of himself and shows great personal resilience. ( I could learn something from him ).
Here's some wisdom about dealing with disappointment as an athlete:
"successful athletes realize that disappointment is part of sport. If they won every competition they would eventually become bored with their sport and quit. They only way to win every competition would be to compete against others who were not as good as they are. Successful athletes pursue excellence, not perfection. They learn to evaluate how well they played win,or lose. When they are disappointed, they do not allow that emotion to ruin their experience. They learn to cope with adversity and loss, as well as with success. Successful athletes use disappointment to motivate them to practice so they do better in the future."
Today, my son, you WERE very successful.
I'm as proud of you today as I would be if you made States, because you showed a lot of maturity at a difficult time.

Distracting Myself While Waiting For His Race

Amy Poehler Back on SNL

Love her! Just in case you missed it:

Last Chance

Tomorrow we will be at the pool for the last chance meet. It's the last chance to qualify for state championships.
Let me back up a bit, in swimming you compete in the age group you are in on the day of the competition.
So if the 36 hour boy was competing today he'd be one of the top swimmers in the state. Two weeks from now he has to compete as a 15 year old with different time standards. He's really close in all his races. His favorite race the 50 free he is .19 off of qualifying. This is the race they call the "splash and dash" because it is so fast it is just water everywhere. The best swimmers don't breathe. The 36 hour boy can swim with 2-3 breathes but it takes a lot of mental focus because the adrenaline is running and you feel like you need to breathe.
Wish him luck he's trained really hard, and besides doesn't he look really fierce in the whole body suit?

Drawdio

oops too much time on you tube today. My geekology gadget boy is going to love this.

O J Simpson's Karma Is A Bitch

Really? REALLY?
He was just trying to get stuff back for his kids.
Barf.
The judge called him arrogant and sentenced him to 15 years.

Lilo and Stitch Dance Off

Here's a bit of happy for your day.

Family Love

O.K. I have to work on this a bit but if you want to see better pictures/with better background click on the pictures.
I love the movement in this series and the love that comes through. Thank you to Sachi, I will post her info. once I have permission. So if family is looking at this ... thank you and you should definitely just click on the photo which will take you to a great slide show. hey and leave your comments so I know we don't have to send a Christmas card. Just kidding we will anyway.
This photo session took about 15 minutes which shows what a great eye Sachi has.

Palin Deception

I never really paid much attention to the whole controversy about the baby but I stumbled across this website and I thought it made some valid points. What do you think?

www.palindeception.com

Hormone Hale

hale
(hah lay)

Definition: house; home

You get the picture.
Pray for me.