Tsunami...Not really

Well we woke up to a tsunami,or as my 6 year old said,a salami warning and then surrounded the tv at 11:05 to see what would hit Hilo. All that happened, thankfully, was 3 feet waves. So catastrophe averted. At least we know our evacuation plan works.

The monkey finally found a new tree

A little of this and a little of that...

My daughter has been practicing at church for a human video her youth group will be performing next Sunday. I'm hoping to get a clip of this for my blog next week. I'm praying it goes well for her.

Tomorrow I am renting "The Box," can't wait.

Tonight Dominic will be home late so it's just tuna sandwiches, mac and cheese, and veggies and ranch dip.

My son Darrian went to the Dole Plantation for a field trip today. He said he loved the maze and he enjoyed riding on the train. The plantation is beautiful and has the most awesome pineapple flavored ice cream. Me and dad always get this when he comes to visit.

Hope you all had a great day.

PS If you get the chance to read this post my sister did on a book and epilepsy go over and read it. It was a really good post and generated great conversation. I'm sure we can all relate to the use of labels.

relaxing weekend

We ended up going to Chilis for dinner Saturday which was a lot of fun for the kids and fun for me because I got a break from cooking. Tonight is church and Royal Rangers. I am looking forward to Tuesday so I can rent this movie that I wanted to see: The Box. I love the idea of popping a movie in, making my own snack, and being able to pause it whenever I need a break. Oh the wonders of DVD.

Update,,,,and books

Vanessa is fine. No surgery at the moment. The doctor said it isn't blood coming from her cyst but little bits of pineal fluid. It also wasn't new. Her shunt is magnetic so he put the magnet on top of her head and found out her shunt was set wrong. It was at a 2 and it should be 1.5 so he reset it. There is a little growth so they still want to MRI her head every 6 months, but hopefully the cyst will someday start to decrease instead of increase.

For you book lover's out there, here is a site I found while reading a magazine at the Dr. office yesterday. www.WhatShouldIReadNext.com Plug in your favorite books and get a list of other one's you'd likely enjoy. I haven't tried it yet, but it sounds like a good site.

Prayers for Vanessa

After Vanessa had her shunt done in May she had no more problems until yesterday. It seems she has a condition known as pineal cyst apoplexy. As you can see in this article under objective and importance, a pineal cyst apoplexy is rare, only 18 known cases. We are praying that the her doctor will guide us in the right direction. Her Doctor in San Diego specializes in pineal cyst, so for that we are thankful. We are having a consult on Tuesday, but for now she is stable.

Do you want to join the roadkill list?

Pretty sure I won't be participating in this one:
Alaska

In Alaska moose, caribou and bear are considered state property under the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, and anyone who finds roadkill must call a state trooper, who turns the carcass over to charity "if it's not too squished. When they receive news of a moose roadkill, volunteers rush to the scene to butcher the animal, which must be quickly bled, gutted and quartered so the meat can cool as fast as possible. The meat is taken to churches, which distribute it to needy families, and soup kitchens make stew. Around 820 moose are distributed in this way each year Local residents may also register to be included on the "roadkill list" in the more rural areas, ensuring that the valuable meat is not wasted.[

What amazes me about this is that it snows for 40 hours and people just keep on driving. I wonder if they could give lessons to the poor people who got hit so hard with snow on the East Coast. I guess if you live in AK a little snow ain't gonna stop you.

A day in Alaska

I am really hoping we get stationed in Alaska after viewing this. This video shows one entire day in Alaska, time lapsed of course. When I see this I think about our universe and it's creator.

It's my birthday today and I am going to go to church and then watch the super bowl. I love football so I was happy to find out the game was on my birthday. You all know I got a Kindle from my dad (thanks again dad), that I am now in love with, and hubby usually gets me flowers and a card. He also said I can buy some books for my Kindle since he knows this is exactly what I wanted. So all in all it will be a nice birthday. Hope you are all having a fun weekend.

Furlough Friday

Well today is another furlough Friday for our kids here in Hawaii. So far they haven't been able to work this issue out. It's now affecting the military as you can see here in this article called: Furlough's Hurt Military Views of Hawaii schools. The kids here have been on a 4 day week since Oct. with Friday's off due to financial problems within the state. So far they have not worked this issue out. We are lucky. My kids principal decided to keep the kids, all four days, an hour later in school so that they could have the extra 4 hours a week to make up for some of the 7 hours they will miss by not being in school on Fridays. She also makes the teacher's send home packets of homework consisting of enough material to cover the other 3 hours they will miss due to school closure on Friday. It's funny because I don't actually love the furloughs because they cut out some of the education my children should be entitled to, yet I find all 3 boys, especially my 10 year old Damian, seem to be absorbing more information at a faster rate then before. The teachers have noticed this too. I asked my son and he says having the extra hour keeps him on track and knowing the week is over so soon keeps him motivated. In Japan they go to school for much longer days but I don't know if they get a 3 day weekend. I'm wondering if furloughs may have some benefit if not a whole lot. Given the choice though I still think I want my kids in school for at least 5 days a week if possible. We are moving this summer but I really hope Hawaii resolves this because there are many families here that have children in an already substandard school system and this, to me, is not fair.

Cooking Thursday

Sandra from Diary of a Stay at Home Mom is hosting Cooking Thursday. I recently got this book (all you Eat Well Save Big Cookbook) and in it is the most delicious recipe for Slow-Cooker Barbecue Turkey Meatballs. So far I have had the book only one month and have cooked the meatballs once a week since. We serve them with mashed potatoes and corn.

Slow-Cooker Barbecue Turkey Meatballs
2 Tbsp. Vegetable oil
1 small onion, grated (or finely chopped)
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 lb. ground turkey breast. I use ground turkey that comes in a roll in the frozen section. I actually use 3 rolls for this recipe.
1 lg. egg lightly beaten
1/2 C rolled oats (not instant)
2 Cups BBQ sauce (I use 1 plus 1/2 bottle)
1. Warm vegetable oil in a small skillet over medium high heat. Add onion and celery and cook stirring until softened, about 4 minutes. Add garlic and saute' for 1 minute longer. Transfer to a small bowl and let cool.
2. Place turkey in a large bowl. Add onion mixture, egg and oats. Use your fingers to gently but thoroughly blend ingredients. Dampen hands lightly and form mixture into small meatballs. (about 2 inches round).
3. Pour a small amount of bbq sauce over bottom of slow-cooker. Add meatballs, alternating with bbq sauce. top last layer with bbq sauce and cover and cook low about 6 hours. Or cook high about 3 hours. I use low for about 2 hours and then switch to warm all day. My crock-pot cooks a little hot on warm.

The best things about this recipe is it is low cost and delicious.

My mom made these quilts (Steelers and Cowboys) a few years ago. I'm the Cowboy fan, hubby is all about Steelers. Luckily for me Mr. Chris (Chris Fuamatu-Ma'afala formerly of the Pittsburgh Steelers works as the sports director where my son goes to the Teen Center just behind my house. My son is going to ask Mr. Chris to sing hubby's blanket. If only Tony Romo worked at the Teen Center.

My birthday is on Feb. 7 so my dad sent me this. It's the KINDLE!!!! I'm sure this will be my favorite gift unless the hubby buys me a Lexus, ha ha! I haven't even registered yet or bought my first book because I'm too busy admiring it. I'm sure I will get it up and running this week. How cool is this? Thanks Dad!

Who likes this?

We have had a Wii for a few years now. We also have WiiFit. We now own WiiFit plus. I still resort to tennis when playing games with my kids. My son Dominic plays this game every day. I play with him at times. I like it but do not find it anywhere near as challenging as my exercise videos. How many of you out there use WiiFit and what do you like best about this product?

Hillsong, Hillsong, and more Hillsong...

Like I said in the previous post I am totally hooked on my new Hillsong CD. I listen to it in the car, at home, while exercising, just about all the time. In fact after church last night I had it playing when I got home. I hope my neighbors like Hillsong before going to bed, I know I do. After hearing about Hawaii passing HB444 through the Senate (legalizing civil unions) I leave you with this thought:
"You said, Ask and I'll give the nations to you
O Lord, that's the cry of my heart"
Hillsong

Standing tall in this wide space
Getting lost in Your embrace
I see a fire burning brighter
It's calling me to catch the flame

I feel like I'm falling over and over in love with You
It's not just a feeling, but I know that He is real
I feel like I'm falling into the arms of a mighty God
It's not just a feeling, but I know that He is real

You're drawing me closer to Your side
It's the safest place I know where to hide
With one glance You captured my heart
You speak Your words and set me apart

I feel like I'm falling, I feel like I'm falling
I feel like I'm falling, falling into the arms of love

Same song, different week. I'm posting this song again with the lyrics because it's the song I can't stop listening to from my new Hillsong CD By Your Side.

For more Then Sings My Soul Saturday's go on over the Amy's blog at Signs, Miracles, and Wonders.

Gadgets

I love gadgets. Especially gadgets that make my life easier. That is why I love this. The perfect brownie pan. Yes it works exactly as advertised as long as you follow the directions. I have used it several times for making brownies including gluten free brownies and every time the brownies popped out perfectly cut. I even made 50 brownies for my son's football team's fund raiser last fall and one of the mom's asked me how I cut the brownies so nicely. I told her it just takes practice. No actually I said "perfect brownie pan." The next gadget I absolutely love is a defrosting tray.
I have this too, although an older one. Yes it defrosts amazingly fast. The other gadget I love is used for cleaning and washing fruits and vegetables. It is a Lotus:
I think this works, at least in my mind it does. The other day on "The Doctors" they had another version of this called activeion: I showed my husband and daughter this and said "gee this would make a great birthday gift." They gave me the look, you know the one that says I must have two heads, and my daughter said "only you could wish for a cleaning product for your birthday. Well I'm sure you all get the point. I love gadgets, as seen on tv. I am now eying one of these
Anyone else out there love gadgets? If so which one's? The hubby hopes no one answers this. He thinks we have too many gadgets. Too many? Can there be too many?

What does buying books, patience and God have to do with Alaska?

I have some patience. I have zero patience when it comes to buying books. When I see a new book, one I just have to have now, at Sam's Club, for half the price, I usually buy it. Since going on my book buying diet for New Year's I have been better at checking the library online to see if I can get the book there for free. We are lucky. The library waiting list is never more then 10 to 15 people long, about a 2 month wait. My sweet friend in Alaska informed me that she was number 475 on her waiting list in Anchorage the last time she was on it. More like a 2 year wait instead of a 2 month wait. I thought God was sending me to Alaska so I could enjoy snow, something I miss occasionally, something I haven't seen in 8 years. Now if we get stationed to Alaska I'm thinking God wants me to learn to be patient, especially when it comes to buying books. Sometimes I wish God would make smaller statements.

The Girl Who Hated Books

I saw this clip and just had to share it. I thought it looked like my house. Books, books, and more books.