Technically, it's my birthday. Not here, of course, but on the mainland where I was born, it is. I'm 27 today. I feel sad. Partly because I'm getting older. Closer to 30 than 20. Weird how fast time flies. But mostly I'm sad because I'm thinking about my grandfather. Pa. Pa's in the hospital right now. He's been diagnosed with a lung disease and he'll be on oxygen for the rest of his life. This hurts me so deeply. He's such a proud, independent, active man. It breaks me to ...

Is it cold where you are? Snowing? Raining? The grass is yellow and crispy and the trees are bare? Are you lips chapped? Your skin dry? Well, then you'll love to see some photos from our family outing yesterday, right? Hehe. We stuffed our big black backpack with towels and sunscreen and snacks and books and other must-have beach items and headed out to Hanauma Bay. The bay can be really crowded, so much so that the parking lot is full and no new visitors are allowed in unt...

It's a man's world, right? Females are subject to discrimination, injustice, and prejudice the world over, including America. Our society chooses to punish women and praise men for the same actions. Our society promotes the idea that women are too emotional and unstable, and not smart enough or physically capable to surpass a man in a given situation. When a woman expresses anger or disgust, it is assumed that she is being overwhelmed by her fragile female emotions and not thinking cl...

Apparently not all soaps are created equal. Laundry detergent goes in the washing machine. Hand soap goes on your hands. Dishwasher soap (in liquid, gel pack, or powder form!) goes in the dishwasher. And dish soap goes in the sink. I am the reason there are warning labels on household products. I had a lot of post-Christmas dishes to wash. Some, unfortunately, had been in the sink (rinsed!) since Christmas day. And then there was yesterday's dishes that I hadn't yet wa...

Ever had a flawless Christmas? I don't think I have. Not as an adult, anyways. It's always something. Since Adrian's been home, I've put on a bit of weight. I've gone from healthfully voluptuous to voluptuous with a vengeance (read: chubby). This hasn't kept Adrian from buying me clothes. Last night after spending all day cooking (a great big breakfast in the morning, fudge, deviled eggs, cheese ball, green chili cresent roll appetizers, chocolate chip cookies, 2 pumpkin pies, an...

I'm the Grinch. The Scrooge. The Christmas Jerk. We have an abundance of gifts this year. We bought the children about 9 presents each back in November. Since then we've added nearly as many, piece by piece. Then the in-laws sent money which we used to buy gifts for the children. Finally, earlier this week we received 4 or 5 HUGE boxes full of presents from my parents. I didn't count them all, but I'd say it's a safe bet to assume that each child and adult in our family received bet...

My youngest is home from school today, sick with a fever and a yucky nose. He felt rotten this morning, but is feeling nice and spunky now. He's been all over the house and played with and relocated everything that's not been nailed down (and consumed an alarming amount of apples and bananas). Little monkey. I've been busy with a lot of chores, and absent-mindedly put a pair of scissors away in the kids' crayon bucket. The kids are allowed to use scissors, but they have to ask, so th...

I like my house. It's free...well...not exactly, it's part of my husband's salary, but the rent is taken out before we even see his paycheck, so it feels free. It's plenty big for our family. I like all the storage space. I like that we have a backyard big enough to play in but not so big that it's a hassle. I like the big sliding doors in the dining room. I like the wooden cabinets. I like having 2 and a half bathrooms. I like my house. Let me make that clear. I'm very satisf...

This year's Thanksgiving is going to be terrific. The boys have been asking "how many days until Thanksgiving?" for a couple of weeks now, so today I was pleased to confirm to them that tomorrow is the day! This afternoon I'll start cleaning and cooking. Most of the decorations are out, including the leaf rubbings Xavier did last year that we cut out. That kid loves leaves. He has a bag full of different leaves he's collected and it's always on the floor, begging to be stepped on. ...

One of my few personal strengths is patience. I can endure a lot and I can be pushed pretty far by other people before I snap. I'm generally a fairly peaceful person. I haven't always been this way, but time and life has mellowed me. I still get angry, though. I get annoyed. My anger manifests itself as stress and frustration. I don't often get mad at people, though. I get mad at situations. I don't know if this is common, but it seems to be the SOP for me. I often have to tel...

I got my first haircut in months this morning. Nothing major...3 inches trimmed off, some layering, and some new side swept bangs. Adrian was tickled (he'd warned me not to come home with a purple mohawk, hehe), and I'm pretty happy with it. Especially for 15 bucks (plus tip). So, the kids are home from school now. I let them know, while we were working on their homework, that I had bought groceries this morning (which makes them very, very happy!). Orian finished up his work, and was...

November 9, 2005 -- Oahu, Hawaii An 8 year old boy was savagely attacked yesterday on the island of Oahu by an assailant wielding an unusual weapon that has been described by authorities as a wooden toy snake. The attack, which left the boy with severe facial wounds, took place inside the child's home. While there has been no confirmation from authorities, sources close to the victim have suggested that the boy's attacker was his 5 year old brother. There were no eye witnesses, but th...

My children's school has no dress code. That's right. None. We see short skirts, little boys with earrings, mohawk hair cuts, band t-shirts, slippers (flip-flops), knee high boots, colored hair...you name it. It's very lax for an elementary school. I can remember the dress code for my old high school. For several years we weren't allowed to wear shorts. Later sweat pants were outlawed (to be fair, this was because we were naughty children and anyone who wore sweat pants was pants...

Anyone from the Texas panhandle likely knows the name Brian Deneke. What happened to him, back in December of 1997, made an unforgettable impression on me. Last night while surfing our TimeWarner Cable iControl fare, my husband and I discovered an A&E report titled "Amarillo." If you have TimeWarner Cable or A&E, I highly recommend looking for this program. The Texas panhandle is a unique place with a very distinctive culture. Agriculture, religion, extreme conservatism, and high sch...

We had a terrific Halloween this year. It's so great to have Adrian home. Xavier and I spent half an hour getting him done up as a zombie. I cut up a different t-shirt for him because a kid in his class pulled on the one he wore Friday and stretched it out. Then, in a stroke of pure genius, I decided to rub his jeans and t-shirts in dirt from the back yard. Hehe. We used Adrian's camo for make up this time (and fake blood) and I think it was an improvement. It'll probably never ...