E Hula Mau is Here

E Hula Mau is a cultural event filled with Hawaiian arts & crafts, foods, workshops, and of course, hula and chant competition. It is a spectacular, annual gathering of the best halaus (hula schools) in California and takes place this labor day weekend, Aug. 29-31. For more info, please visit Na Mamo or the Long Beach Performing Arts Center. Thanks for your support and God bless.

Photo by Adam Lejak Photography.

Insomnia is Always Fun

I'm sure everyone has experienced a sleepless night or two. Here is my take on the possible causes. According to the Mayo clinic, some of the causes include the following:

* Stress - Does stressing over what you're going to eat count?
* Anxiety - I get anxious over undercooked beans and overcooked vegetables
* Depression - The thought of a messy house and piles of dirty laundry
* Stimulants - Does black mango tea count?
* Change in your environment or work schedule - Um, having kids changes lots
* Long-term use of sleep medications - Huh- insomnia with sleeping pills?????
* Medical conditions that cause pain - Does my DH's flatulence count?
* Behavioral insomnia- Why inflict more reasons not to sleep?
* Eating too much too late in the evening - Yes, this may be the culprit

And my favorite cause:
Insomnia becomes more prevalent with age- Great more reason to worry and not get sleep.

Hope you get some sleep everyone!! Good night or for some of us, Good Morning:)

I Need Pants with Elastic Waistbands

Why does it seem that when the weekends roll around, all we do is eat. Saturday morning, everyone will wake up, eat breakfast, do errands, eat lunch, take a nap (well kids and DH), wake up, have dinner, and then repeat the same thing on Sunday. By the time Monday arrives, I am tired of eating (well, not really). Maybe I just wish that we had more neighbors that would invite us over for barbeques:)

Thanks for stopping by. Have a great week everyone!

Happy TGIF

Wishful thinking that today was being spent at the beach. Oh how I long to breathe in the salty sea air and feel the warm sand on my feet. Relaxing days at the beach are so wonderful yet so few and far between lately. Instead, today I'll be doing this. Yes, cleaning toilets. Sigh. Hope you have a wonderful weekend everyone:)

We Were Featured in the Etsy Treasury

Yay, I'm so thrilled that someone thought enough of our earrings to feature them in an Etsy Treasury. What is a treasury? Well, usually it's a theme or collage of shops wherein Etsy members feature the work of other members. Here's a screenshot of the treasury. Our earrings are in the bottom right corner. I've always wondered how someone would know whether they have been featured, since there is no type of formal notification. Fortunately, Maia from Maiaart , was considerate enough to send me a convo to let me know that our shop was being featured. Thanks, again, Maia, for taking the time to let us know. Please check out her amazing artwork. Not only is she thoughtful, but her indigenous/tribal art is a must see. Here's the link to her Etsy shop: http://www.maiaart.etsy.com

Have a happy hump day (Wed) everyone! Thanks for stopping by.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

We were gifted with tickets to the Dodgers vs. Brewers game this past Sunday. We all had a blast, of course, but since it's been about four years since our last baseball game, my memory conveniently blanked out on how to prepare for the joys-of-a-day-at-the-ball-park. Here are some helpful tips just in case you are going to a game in the upcoming future:

Tip #1 - Don't listen to the husband when he tells you that they will not let you into the stadium with the can of sunblock because it is a metal can.

Tip #2 - The big bag you stocked with cold water and goodies, to keep the kids from getting hungry, won't be allowed into the park unless it's less than 14 x 14 inches.

Tip #3 - Stadium seats are not insulated from the heat of the sun. Don't forget to bring towels unless you want to pay $29 for a shirt just to cover up your blistering hot seat that won't seem to cool down.

Tip #4 - Be prepared to buy a portable water fan to cool off whining oldest child.

Tip #5 - No matter how much you feed your family prior to the game, everyone will still be very hungry at the game.

Tip #6 - Whatever snacks you bring to try and save money, will be shunned for the ice cream and junk food vendors.

Tip #7 - When doing the "Wave", be wary of drunken neighbors who participate with drink in hand.

Tip #8 - Before sitting back into your seat, wipe off the spill made by drunken neighbor.

Tip #9 - Be prepared to speak very LOUDLY to the children when drunken neighbor spews off obsceneties.

Tip #10 - When husband does not return to his seat after a long time, do look for him. Chances are that he is sitting in a completely different section/row/seat not even realizing that he left you and the kids (well just one of the kids) in a completely different area.

All in all, we had a great time. We were thrilled to have the opportunity to take the kids to the game and to be able to spend time with our family.

Hope you have a great week. Thanks for stopping by:)

Some New Danglies For your Earlobes

Just in case you were wondering if we have made any jewelry lately;)

Summer Fruit Medley

Ok no food humor on this one. Well maybe some jokes found from the web.

What did one strawberry say to the other strawberry?
Look at the jam you've gotten us into

How do you make a strawberry shake?
Put it into the freezer until it shivers.

What is the most romantic fruit salad?
A date with a peach.

Happy TGIF everyone!

Lemon Pound Cake...for breakfast, lunch, and dinner

Tangy and Tart Lemon Pound Cake
Serves 12 skinny people or 7-8 people with healthy appetites
Prep time 15 minutes minus bathroom breaks
Bake time 1 hour and 30 minutes (it will go by very fast if you try to take a nap)

Ingredients
3 cups cake flour (I used Swans)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda (not to be substituted/mistaken with baking powder)
1/2 teaspoon salt (don't space out and think that you're salting your veggies)
1 cup/2 sticks of room temperature butter (I Can't Believe it's not Butter is not real butter)
2 cups sugar (yup the original version called for 3 cups)
5 large eggs
1/2 cup lemon juice (you might as well pucker up to your honey and kids after sucking on the lemons)
1-2 tablespoons of grated lemon peel (I love my zester)
1 cup sour cream (no light stuff - you want people to like your cake)
1 pt heavy cream - optional (not the stuff in the can that gets sprayed into everyone's mouth)

Preparation
Wash hands. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Don't stick your head in the oven waiting for it to get hot. Grease a 16 cup pan. I just used a large bundt cake pan - who wants to pour 16 cups into a pan. Lightly dust pan w/ cake flour and tap out excess flour. Throw excess flour at everyone around you. Sift flour, baking soda and salt into medium bowl.

Using electric mixer, beat butter in a large bowl at medium speed until fluffy. Try not to mix your fingers off while you sneak a taste. Gradually add sugar and beat 5 minutes. Hop on each leg to delay that bathroom call. Add eggs one at a time, beating just until combined after each addition. Don't watch your favorite tv program or else you'll overbeat. Beat in lemon juice and peel.


Using rubber spatula, mix in dry ingredients. Scoop some sour cream into your mouth, I mean, mix/fold in sour cream. Wipe your fingers of any excess sour cream (even though you'd like to lick them clean). Transfer batter to prepared cake pan. Unless you want salmonella from the raw eggs, don't lick the bowl.

Bake cake until tester (some skinny utensil or toothpick) inserted near center comes out clean, about 1 hour 30 minutes. Let cake cool in pan on rack 15 minutes. Hover around the cake and tell everyone that it's not ready yet. Cut around cake in pan.
Don't let the crumbs go to waste.

Carefully turn cake right side up on rack and cool completely. Whip heavy cream until soft peaks form. Dollop a very large spoonful of whipped cream on each piece of cake. Better yet, add a small piece of cake to a whooping dollop of cream. Eat to your heart's content and maybe save a few pieces for the rest of your family:) Hope you enjoy our recipe!

*The original recipe was found on Epicurious.com but I altered it due to the fear of the original version putting us in a diabetic coma and cholesterol attack.

A past love that doesn't include my husband;)

In the very early eighties, my friends and I were the "hippest" little Catholic school girls around. We would walk around the neighborhood donning our plaid green skirt and white top uniform, carrying this beastly large boombox (after school of course;). Our preferred musical choice included bands such as Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, and Journey, Journey, and more Journey.

Those who cared to hear our music and those who did not care to hear it, were subjected to the very loud sounds that projected from our portable radio. Our boombox was non-exclusive and non-discriminatory, it included everyone within hearing distance. So, there we were proudly blasting away "Faithfully", "Anyway you want it", "Wheel in the Sky" to all that passed by us, on foot and vehicle. Three preteen girls determined to convince the people in the neighborhood (and the world) that their lives were incomplete and meaningless unless they have heard the music of Journey.

25 years later, unless it's Miley Cyrus, the Cheetah girls or anything tweenish, I rarely even get to listen to music these days. If it weren't for all the news buzz about Journey's reformation and the new lead singer, I wouldn't even think twice about my old favorite.

Being very skeptical about Steve Perry's replacement, (after all he was one of my first crooners) I had to look into the matter myself. After watching the YouTube CBS interview with Journey and the new lead singer, Arnel Pineda, I am happy to report that I have rediscovered one of my old loves (don't tell hubby). Here is the CBS interview, but be forewarned, it might bring tears to your eyes. Arnel's story is very inspirational and heartwarming and in my humble opinion, he is a wonderful addition to Journey. What do you think?

Single Women Wanted

I really really wanted to post some embarrassing pics of my DH but I just didn't have the heart to do it. Rather, I didn't want any retaliatory pictures of me;) So, instead, here are some pics of my brother-in-laws. Single and looking for a mate. Well, except for the one in the yellow trunks, he just started dating someone after a long hiatus. A really long seven or eight year hiatus. Needless to say, we were all happy (relieved) when he finally brought someone home.

So the other one, with the closeup picture, is the single one. He's a stand-up comic and not just amongst family members;) "E-man the Pool Man" (his other profession) performs at the Icehouse , Comedy Store , and all those other places that comedians go to tell their stories.

I wonder if his monologue includes any of his early twenty-year-old antics. There were quite few since he was always a funny guy, but there is one in particular that always made his brother (my DH) chuckle. Let's just say that it wasn't the cat who was intoxicated, urinating on the bed in middle of the night, with a loaf of bread in his mouth. Oh boy, I'm really fearing retaliation now. Anyways, maybe tomorrow I'll post some non-embarrassing pics or at least not too embarrassing of DH:) Have a great TGIF everyone!