Photos by jalna

Few More from City Cafe

2012-01-27T21:37:00.000-10:00

I went back to City Cafe earlier this week. A lot of people ordered the Chicken Pesto Sandwich which was a hit the previous week. Here are three different items that we got on this recent visit.

Chef Salad ($5.25)

Turkey with Avocado Sandwich ($5.25)

Spicy Thai Chicken Wrap ($5.25)

Honolulu Magazine's Everyday Life in 20th Century Honolulu

2012-01-27T08:28:00.000-10:00

This is a picture that's included in a photo essay published by Honolulu Magazine in November 2011 entitled Photo Essay: Everyday Life in 20th Century Honolulu. Don't you just love these "Old Hawaii" photos? You can click here to enjoy the article. Thanks for sharing Didi!

Mei Sum Chinese Dim Sum

2012-01-26T00:04:00.000-10:00

Wendell and I had some dim sum at Mei Sum this past Sunday. The place was PACKED, but we got seated pretty quickly and in no time two wagons passed by our table and bam, bam, bam we had our selections and were ready to grind! They have moved since I originally blogged about them 3 years ago, but the prices are still reasonable and our bill came out to only about $20. You can check out my previous post here.

Street Sign

2012-01-25T23:29:00.000-10:00

This sign is in Chinatown at the intersection of River and King Street. I don't get it.

4Kings Kitchen

2012-01-24T21:58:00.001-10:00

After attending a memorial service for my Aunty Mabel this past Saturday, my mom, my sister Geri and I went to 4Kings Kitchen in Moiliili for a late lunch. According to Louie (sitting on the bench) they are celebrating their one-year anniversary. Louie came outside with me 'cause he wanted to make sure that I got the "Customer Parking" sign and also asked me to mention that they have eight customer stalls behind their restaurant.

Here's Chef Brian and Louie. I just loved Louie. He was so personable and very accommodating. When I asked if I could take pictures for my blog, he said sure and then he mentioned that his mom also maintained a website. It's called Every Child Every Village. According to Louie, his mom "builds schools in Africa". And guess what? That's exactly what she does. She is the founder and director of a program which strives to provide the necessary buildings and tools to educate every child in Africa, one village at a time. How awesome is that!!

These dressings are on sale for $4.77.

We decided to eat family style and share our orders. We started with "The Tyrant's" Tofu Salad ($11.00). Louie provided us with four different dressings to try.

I think the Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette was my favorite.

Louie recommended the "Garden Isle" Short Ribs ($14.00) It was so tender!

My mom picked the Chinese Steamed Fresh Island Fish ($14.00). The fish of the day was Nairagi (Striped Marlin) . . . very tasty.

Mac-N-Cheese was on the Keiki Menu ($7.00). When Geri mentioned that she looooooves mac-n-cheese, I asked Louie if we could order it even though we had no keiki with us. It was goooood.

It came with apple and ruby orange slices. Cute yah!

I also ordered this "The Prodigy's" Meatloaf with Brown Gravy ($11.00) to take home.

And this Chef Kapo's Mochiko Chicken ($11.00). It looks like regular fried chicken instead of mochiko chicken yeah? It definitely tasted like mochiko chicken and was ono and very moist.

Here's the menu.

Leslie

2012-01-23T22:25:00.002-10:00

Cakes from Bran

2012-01-22T18:43:00.000-10:00

Do you remember Brandee? She's the one that spent a few months at a school in France learning the fine art of baking pastries and breads. She called me today. She said that she had made a three-tiered wedding cake this past Friday. She said that each tier had a different flavor, and she said that she had some leftover, and did I want any? I didn't even bother to ask how she had some leftover wedding cake. I just said, "Shoots!"

This is a Yellow Chiffon cake with Chambord liquor. The filling is raspberry buttercream.

This is a Cuban Wedding Cake, a rum-soaked tres leches (three milk) cake. It has a banana buttercream filling.

The last cake is a Chocolate Chiffon with Coffee Syrup. It has a coffee buttercream filling.

I honestly can't tell you which one was my favorite . . . all three were so good. I had dropped some off at my mom's, and when I called her tonight, she said they were all "deeeeelicious!". I asked Bran how much she would charge for making one of these. She said probably around $100 for a 12 x 12-inch cake. I think that's a bargain. If anybody wants to order a cake, you can contact me at JalnaA@aol.com.

Iyasume Musubi & Bento Express

2012-01-21T10:21:00.000-10:00

I noticed Iyasume Musubi & Bento Express when I went to pick up sandwiches from City Cafe the other day. I decided to check it out after work yesterday. I only had my 100mm lens with me so this is the widest shot I could get of the outside. I backed up all the way and was close to the street which was lined up with traffic, by the way . . . commuter eyes all on me while they waited for the light to change . . . so was small-kine shame.

I bought six musubi. These are the best photos I could get 'cause was dark by the time I got home.

This is the inside of the Tuna Mayo ($1.78) . . . had kinda plenty mayo, but I liked it. It's maybe almost twice as big as Mana Bu's but Mana Bu's taste is better.

Tuna with Bonito Flakes ($1.98)

Fried Chicken with Mayo ($1.98)

This is the menu that's posted on the wall. Better pictures are on their website: Bento Pictures Musubi Pictures . I'm thinking of going back there to pick up lunch for my workplace crew next week. I'll update with photos if I do.

Ribbon Rose

2012-01-19T22:20:00.000-10:00

Please bear with me . . . I'm now into making embellishments for headbands. Not sure how I'm gonna put everything together yet, but this is the start at least. I'm so glad that I like to save scraps of ribbon from gifts 'cause this red ribbon turned out to be perfect for this project.

I started by putting a dab of glue onto a piece of felt.

I then folded the ribbon in half and rolled one end and stuck it onto the felt. Notice the twist in the ribbon.

The twist is the key.

Add glue to the base and wrap the ribbon around the core, every once in awhile putting a twist into the ribbon.

When you've reached your desired size, cut off and glue the raw edge underneath the bottom.

You can glue a pearl into the center if you like make um fancy.

Sandwiches from City Cafe

2012-01-18T20:33:00.001-10:00

I picked up a bunch of sandwiches from City Cafe today. They're on Makaloa across from Walgreens. I've blogged about them twice before. You can check it out here and here. I convinced everybody who ordered that we should all share so that we could each have a sampling of the different varieties that we got. I cut each sandwhich into fourths and we each got a sampler platter. Good idea hah! They were all so good, I kinda don't know which was my favorite. I told CQ that I wouldn't mind ordering from them again tomorrow.

Chicken Pesto ($5.73)

Bacon, Provolone and Chicken ($5.73)

BLT with Avocado ($5.25)

Ham and Cheese ($4.73)

Chicken Salad with Sliced Cucumbers ($5.01)

Ramen at Shirokiya

2012-01-17T21:40:00.001-10:00

A couple of weeks ago my mom and I had lunch at Shirokiya. I wanted to try out the ramen, so I picked this place.

I got the Miso Ramen with Gyoza. The ramen was good; the gyoza not too good. All in all, it wasn't worth the 13 bucks I ended up paying.

Organza Flowers

2012-01-16T17:54:00.000-10:00

I bought some organza material months and months ago and had wanted to make these flowers to use with headbands or hair clips. I got around to making um this past weekend.

For the first flower I cut seven identical flower-shaped circles about 3 to 4 inches in diameter and one small felt circle about 1 inch in diameter. This is my favorite glue.

I glued one of the circles to the felt to use as the base.

For the petals I put a dab of glue in the center . . .

and folded the petal in fourth.

Then I glued them to the center of the base.

The last petal I twisted into a kinda cone shape and glued it in the middle.

Pretty easy yah!

For the second flower I cut seven round circles, the first about 3 to 4 inches in diameter, and the rest slightly graduating in diameters, cutting each a little smaller than the previous. They don't have to be exact circles because you're gonna melt the edges.

Hold each circle close to a candle flame until it melts all around.

It will end up looking like this.

After melting the edges of all seven circles, gather them up and position them to your liking.

Sew a stitch or two in the center of your flower to hold the circles in place and then sew on three pearls.

So pretty!

Off topic, but wanted to show you what Landon made for a side dish tonight. He topped tofu with bonito flakes, and poured on some shoyu and sesame oil. For the cucumber dish he slivered the cucumbers and added bonito flakes, dried shrimp, shoyu, sesame oil and a little mayo. So simple but so ono.

Bronsyn's First Birthday Party

2012-01-15T18:51:00.000-10:00

Bronsyn's dad Darryl plays softball with Wendell on the Family Stones softball team. We were invited to Bronsyn's first birthday party held at Bellow's. The weather was perfect, the food was ono and the kids and adults alike had choke good fun.

Draw a Stickman

2012-01-14T20:50:00.000-10:00

Saturday night and nothing to do? Click here to have some fun.

Eggfruit

2012-01-12T19:55:00.002-10:00

Ever had an eggfruit before? CQ bought some at a small open market on Nuuanu Avenue. She said that she was told that you can also find it at the KCC Open Market.

It has a hard-boiled egg yolk-like texture and kinda tastes like a sweet potato . . . kinda . . . It's hard to describe.

Some people couldn't figure out if they liked it or not. . .

and some people thought it was just plain funky.

Romano's Macaroni Grill

2012-01-11T20:47:00.001-10:00

Wendell and I were both on vacation last week . . . YIKES, I know . . . too much time together yah. It went well though. We each had a few days where we had our own things to do so we managed to avoid annoying each other too much. We ended up at Macaroni Grill in Ala Moana Shopping Center one day. Wendell had never been there before and it was I think my third time. I was so looking forward to getting their salad with strawberries and chicken and was disappointed to find out that they no longer made it. In fact they kinda revamped the whole menu. You can check out the menu here. We ordered a bunch of stuff, and they were all good. Thank you so much for the gift card, Edsel!!

We had the famous Macaroni Grill Rosemary Bread to start.

I ordered Lentil Soup ($6.50). It was good, but I shouldn't have ordered it . . . this and the bread made me full.

Stuffed Mushrooms ($11.59). It was stuffed with Italian sausage, goat cheese, spinach and breadcrumbs . . . yummmm!!

Salad Sampler ($15). On the left is a Caesar Salad, in the middle is the Market Chop (turkey, provolone, pepperoni, artichoke) and on the right is the Bibb & Blue (bibb leaves, blue cheese, walnuts and pickled red onions).

Smoky Shrimp Flatbread ($18). True to its name, it was very smoky flavored with seared shrimp, mozarella and pancetta. It was really, really good.

Didi's Ko Choo Jang Dressing

2012-01-10T22:05:00.000-10:00

I wanted to try Didi's Ko Choo Jang Dressing that she gave us a few days ago, so I fixed myself up this salad tonight. Salami and cheese kinda don't really match with ko choo jang, but it's all I had. Still tasted good though.

1/4 c. ko choo jang (Korean red pepper paste)
¼ c. + 2 TB agave nectar
2 TB brown sugar, lightly packed
½ c. rice wine vinegar
2/3 c. vegetable oil
Salt, to taste
Freshly ground white pepper, to taste

In a jar, combine all ingredients. Shake well to combine. Makes approximately 2 cups.

Adapted from Aloha Pacific Credit Union Calendar - from Sansei Seafood Restaurant and Sushi Bar....(Japanese Calamari Salad)
Didi said she modified the original recipe by cutting down on the ko choo jang, replacing most of the sugar with agave nectar, and adding white pepper.

This is da bomb croutons. I got it from Costco. Sorry, I forget how much it cost.

Landon's Stuffed Mushrooms

2012-01-09T22:33:00.000-10:00

Landon did dinner last night. He put some steaks on the hibachi and also made these stuffed mushrooms. I was supposed to help him out, but ended up doing more picture taking than helping.

First he sauteed some chopped up bacon, portuguese sausage, onion and garlic.

Then he put it into our miniature chopper.

He added some cheese, mayonnaise and pepper. The cheese didn't do too good in the chopper. It ended up stuck on the blades and didn't really get cut up.

After taking the mixture out of the chopper, he added some breadcrumbs.

This is where I helped out. I stuffed the mushrooms.

Landon then broiled them for a few minutes.

As Wendell would say, "That's what I'm talkin' about!"

Didi's Gingerbread Cake with Praline Toppping

2012-01-08T19:44:00.000-10:00

Here's Didi's recipe for her Gingerbread Cake

2 c. all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 c. butter, room temperature
1/2 c. light brown sugar, firmly packed
2 large eggs
1/2 c. molasses
1 c. milk

Praline Topping:
1/4 c. butter, melted
1/2 c. brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 c. walnuts, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease a 9-inch cake pan. In a mixing bowl; combine dry ingredients well. In a separate mixing bowl, beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time; beating well after each addition. Add molasses. Stir in dry ingredients and milk, alternately, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Transfer batter into prepared pan. Bake 30 minutes. Topping: In a mixing bowl; combine topping ingredients well. Spoon mixture evenly onto top of cake and continue baking 10 minutes; until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cook 10 minutes before cutting. Serve warm. Serves 8-10.

Rubbah Stamping with da Sistahs

2012-01-07T22:29:00.000-10:00

I invited my sisters over today for a rubber stamping session . . . mostly because I wanted to get rid of some of my supplies. My cardstock's getting faded, inks are drying out, and they're just taking up too much space in the closet that I'm still trying to clean out. I told my sisters that whatever they made they could take home with them.

The creative juices were flowing.

They made some very neat cards.

Mostly though it was just good fun.

Hey, what's that Gingerbread Cake with Praline Topping doing on top of the cards? Didi made it. It was good . . . very moist. I'll post the recipe later.

It took pretty much all day, but they ended up making over 125 cards, some they'll use and some they'll give away as gifts for other people to use.

So pretty yah! I wanna do it again. That was fun . . . and I still have stuff to get rid of.

My Mom the Musician

2012-01-06T20:30:00.000-10:00

I just love, love, love this photo. On the back is written "Queen's Beach". My mom thinks she must've been in middle school when the picture was taken, so probably in the 1940's. She said she doesn't know what she was doing with the ukulele. She said she was probably showing off and pretending that she knew how to play it. I asked her about the pants. She said that that was the style and that "everybody wore their pants like that."

Humpback Whales in Honolulu Harbor this Morning!!

2012-01-05T14:12:00.001-10:00

I learned about the whales from Dean on his Courts Dawn Patrol blog.

A 100-yard security zone has been established at Honolulu Harbor after humpback whales were discovered Thursday morning. Video courtesy of Christopher Kojima, uploaded to YouTube by HawaiiNewsNow.

Old Photos

2012-01-04T19:42:00.003-10:00

I'm supposed to be cleaning out my closet. On Saturday it took me all day to clear out a fourth of the closet. Then on Sunday my family came over and my mom brought with her some old photos. I've been obsessing about them since then and haven't touched my closet. I went online and found a story about my grandma's older brother Kenji Horiuchi. It said that he struggled to put himself through college and eventually earned an engineering degree, but even though he graduated with honors no one would hire him because he was Japanese. Click here to check out the story. Then I found this link that showed me that my grandma's younger brother Yoshitaka Horiuchi coauthored a book with his son Koki Theodore Asakura. What's so interesting to me is the fact that when Hawaii-born Yoshitaka became enraged at the treatment that Japanese Americans endured during "war time" he moved to Japan leaving his family behind including his wife Haruko and son Koki. How Koki and he came to coauthor a book together later is such a mystery to me. My mother claims that Yoshitaka never, ever came back, and if I was Koki I'd hate my dad for leaving me. Wish I knew the story. I think I found Koki's phone number and mailing address. Maybe I'll write to him. He's 67 years old today.

Which kinda leads me to this writing. Can somebody tell me what it says? It's written behind the photo below it. I think the photo is of Yoshitaka and the start of his family. I can read the date which I think says October 28, 1945. Looks like the rest of the writing might be names?

Baked Chocolate Mochi

2012-01-04T13:35:00.000-10:00

I got this recipe from somebody a loooooong time ago. I think I made it only once before and I wondered if I still had the recipe. I did a happy dance when I found it deep in my recipe box.

This is what my copy looks like . . . front and back views. Looks like a hurriedly jotted down the recipe as someone recited it to me.

Melt 1 cup of chocolate chips and 1 block margarine over really low heat. Cool.

Mix together 2 cups mochiko, 2 cups sugar and 1 tbs. baking soda. Check out our "antique road show" strainer. Neat yah! I hope Wendell doesn't ever dump it.

In a separate bowl combine the chocolate/butter mixture, 2 cans of evaporated milk, 2 tsp. vanilla and

two beaten eggs.

Add dry ingredients. I know . . . that picture came out so cool. Hahahaha!!

Pour into 9 x 13 inch pan. I usually line the pan with foil 'cause it makes it easier to clean up. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 to 55 minutes.

I baked it for 55 minutes and it came out a little cakier than I had wanted. 50 minutes might be perfect in our oven.

Geri's Baked An Mochi

2012-01-03T17:35:00.000-10:00

So yummy!!

5 cups mochiko
2 1/4 cup brown sugar
2 cans coconut milk
1 can water
1 tsp. baking soda
1 can an

Combine ingredients, pour into a 9 x 13-inch pan and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

New Year's Day 2012

2012-01-02T11:28:00.001-10:00

2012!!! Can you believe it? It sounds so futuristic . . . yet it's today. Ho, time wen just fly by yah!

The food we had at our annual gathering was kinda the same as we've had before which I've already blogged about. Glenn made his awesome prime rib and chicken on the grill. Glenn also grilled the shrimp. I made fast-kine marinade for it with Yoshida sauce and sweet chili sauce. Wendell made nishime. Sweetie made her onolicious kinpira gobo and hasu. Cy and Diem brought an ono crab dish that I forgot to get a picture of. Aya!!

I made some edamame with butter, garlic, Yoshida sauce and lemon juice. I got all excited when I saw how the light was shining on the bowl. Glenn and Didi laughed at me 'cause when I ran to the bedroom to get a different lens, the light went away and I got all distraught. Glenn told me to be patient and the light would be back. And sure enough it came back.

Geri made her best-ever-in-the-history-of-mankind ozoni. Recipe can be found here.

Diem brought this jello-ish dessert she bought from Chinatown. Isn't it amaaaaazing??!!!

Daniel and Kenna brought this Chocolate Ganache Cake that they bought from Watanabe Bakery. It was soooo good. They said it was $22. I insisted that they take home the leftoevers, but now I regret it 'cause I wouldn't mind eating some right now . . . hahahaha!

Geri made a Baked An Mochi and I made a Baked Chocolate Mochi. I'll have recipes for you later.

And here are just a few more shots from the day.

Okay, I gotta go finish cleaning out my closet now. I started on Saturday and I only did about a fourth. I'm on vacation this week. I think it's gonna take me all week.

My Grandma's Funeral - 1960

2012-01-01T17:35:00.002-10:00

My mom brought a bunch of old photos to my house today, and I especially wanted to share this one so that my cousins who read my blog could see it too. This is actually a portion of a much larger photo that was taken at my mom's mom's funeral back in 1960. I remember back then asking my mom if I should smile for the photo, and she said, "No." I remember trying my best to look sad.

That's me circled in red, my sister Didi in yellow and my mom and Geri in green. Doesn't my mom look so young? She was 26 at the time. On the left side are my relatives from my dad's side, the Kiharas.

Eri's Crab Rice Dish

2011-12-31T22:29:00.001-10:00

Happy New Year everybody. I'm home with Kona right now. I left a party early tonight so that I could keep Kona company during the firecracker popping. I gave him some tranquilizers, but he's still a bit trembly. Poor thing yah.

My favorite dish at the party tonight was Eri's rice dish. She was kind enough to give me the recipe. I hope you get to try it. It was really, really good.

Pat 3 cups of cooked rice in a 9 x 13 inch pan. Sprinkle with furikake.

Combine the following and layer on top of the rice:
1 can crab
1 package imitation crab, separated and shredded
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup sour cream
3 stalks green onion, chopped
1/4 cup tobiko

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. If it doesn't brown, place under a broiler for a few minutes.

It was really ono eaten with some nori.

Ornament Decorating Contest

2011-12-30T22:02:00.000-10:00

We had an ornament decorating contest at work. We had to decorate a round styrofoam ball AND provide some wise saying to go with it. This is my entry. Isn't it beauuuuutiful? I thought I had a good chance to win at least third place. But guess what . . . I wasn't even close. I couldn't believe some of the entries that got turned in . . . they were so impressive. I only got to take pictures of a few of the ornaments. Make sure to check out Leslie's pics for the rest.

Michele's

Leslie's Hello Kitty

Yosh's Rudolph's Nose

Wayne took third place and won $25.

Susan's Rainbow Zebra won her $50.

Jay's Angry Birds took first place winning him $75. I stole this picture from Leslie's blog.

Jalna's Eggplant Tsukemono

2011-12-29T22:12:00.002-10:00

Wendell made an eggplant dish for dinner one night and there were about four leftover eggplants that he didn't use. Not wanting them to go to waste, I used them to make this tsukemono. I found a recipe at BellaOnline. It came out kinda sweeter than I expected but it was still good.

Slice the eggplant about 1/8 inch in thickness, sprinkle with Hawaiian salt and let stand for about an hour. I peeled the skin with a peeler in a striped pattern. Don't ask me why. I have no idea why I did that. I put the slices in my press, but you don't have to. I ended up squeezing the liquid out by hand anyway.

Combine 2 tsp. dry mustard with 2 tsp. water.

Dissolve 2 Tbsp. shoyu, 2 Tbsp. mirin, 2 Tbsp. sake and 2 Tbsp. sugar. Add to mustard/water.

After an hour or so, rinse the eggplant in some water (to remove the salt) and squeeze the liquid from the eggplant. Add the shoyu/mustard mixture. Allow to marinate in fridge for at least 8 hours before eating.

It's a great way to use up leftover eggplant.

Michele's Kahlua/Vodka Cake

2011-12-28T07:59:00.000-10:00

Michele made this a couple of times for us at work . . . it's some ono!

Phuket Thai Restaurant

2011-12-26T19:41:00.000-10:00

After shopping for our Vibram shoes Wendell and I went to eat a late lunch at Phuket Thai Restaurant. Wendell took so long deciding on which model to get that we went waaaay past lunchtime, and I was starving. Some of you might know that when me and Wendell go out to eat, sometimes we order too much food. We did it again this time, and it was kinda embarrassing when the waitress offered to add another table to ours so that all the dishes could fit! Aya!!

Thank you for the gift card Kim. We had a really nice time, and the food was great.

This is the Crispy Calamari ($9.50)

Pad Thai with Tofu ($9.50)

Wendell absolutely loved this special, Cornish Hen ($12.95).

Crispy Eggplant ($8.75)

Good Fortune Salad - Chicken Lahp ($9.25)

Christmas Day 2011

2011-12-25T19:44:00.000-10:00

This year my family did something different for Christmas . . . we went out to eat!! We went to Sam Choy's Breakfast, Lunch and Crab for a brunch buffet. I loved it!

After brunch we all went to my house to open gifts. Colin took these pictures.

The Wheatgrass Center

2011-12-24T20:39:00.000-10:00

On several recommendations, me and Wendell went to The Wheatgrass Center today to check out their Vibram FiveFingers. It's in Kaimuki on Center Street behind Bank of Hawaii.

It's a really neat place . . . almost feels like you're outdoors.

Wendell had a hard time deciding. He tried on several pairs.

When he hit on the right one though, there was no question. We both chose the same model, the Komodo Sport. I picked the one with velcro (on the left) and he chose the one with lace (on the right). It's $115!! Expensive yah. But it's our Christmas present to each other, and wearing it is supposed to make us healthy, happy and more connected to our bodies. I'm just hoping I'll be less klutzy. We'll see.

Lauren

2011-12-23T21:48:00.000-10:00

Lauren is one of our newest coworkers. She is 20 years old, from Alabama and loads of fun. I dragged her into our lounge for a few quick shots today. This is the one I liked the best. I had fun adding a whole bunch of textures and playing around with the picture. I should be wrapping presents instead, but I've still got tomorrow to wrap, and I'd rather be doing this anyway.

This is what the shot looked like straight out of the camera.

Ice Machine Update

2011-12-22T19:59:00.002-10:00

About a month or so ago our noisy ice machine broke. I was soooo happy. Never again would I have to listen to that awful racket on the weekends.

Unfortunately, Wendell is good at fixing things, and he figured out that it was this part that needed replacement. Somehow he found the part online and he ordered it. I still had hope though. Maybe it wasn't really that part that was broken, right? Coulda been something else too right?

Then Wendell had trouble contacting the place that he ordered the part from. He wanted to know the approximate delivery date. They didn't answer his e-mails. They didn't respond to his phone calls. Secretly I celebrated. My glee was short lived, however. The part arrived a few days ago.

Well I went to Kahala Mall today after work for some last minute Christmas shopping, so I got home a little late. As soon as I walked into the bedroom, I could hear that familiar droning racket coming from right outside of the window. Oh Gawd, nooooooo!!

From the beginning Wendell agreed to not run the machine when it got late because I worried that the noise might disturb the neighbors. So I said, "Wendell, you still got that ice machine on." He said, "Working good, hah?"

Yes, damnit.

*Erick just commented on how the ice machine is lasting long. Maybe this is why.*

Michele's Corn and Tomato Relish

2011-12-21T19:15:00.000-10:00

Michele calls this a relish, but it's more like a salsa to me. It was so ono, it got wiped out fast. I think it's so cool that she's always bringing stuff to share with us. Thanks Michele!!

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon celery seeds
2 cups freshly cooked sweet corn kernels or packaged frozen corn, thawed
1 cup chopped tomatoes
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup sweet pickle relish
1/2 teaspoon salt
pinch of cayenne (optional)

1. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the cumin and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant (20 to 30 seconds). Remove from heat, add vinegar, sugar, and celery seeds. Stir until sugar dissolves and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, combine corn, tomatoes, onion, and relish. Pour the vinegar mixture over, sprinkle salt and cayenne, toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate at least one hour to allow flavors to blend.

Beeeezaaaar

2011-12-20T20:48:00.000-10:00

They're faking, right?

Vibram

2011-12-19T19:12:00.000-10:00

Me and Wendell went to Uyeda Shoe Store to check out some Vibram footwear.

I tried on at least 5 different styles, but it ended up that the style that was most comfortable to me only had red ones left. I decided it was just too eye catching. Wendell also decided to "look around" some more.

Dylan

2011-12-18T18:41:00.001-10:00

Dylan is 15 days old today and just the cutest, cutest baby. The best thing about Dylan was that once she got settled and fed, she was out like a light and so easy to photograph, and she is already so photogenic.

Isaiah Roces Baptism

2011-12-17T17:57:00.000-10:00

I've said this before . . . I loooove Jose Roces. He is a super talented professional photographer who let me tag along with him on a few of his wedding shoots. He is just the nicest, nicest guy. Last weekend I had the pleasure of taking pictures at his son Isaiah's baptism. It was held at St. Jude Catholic Church in Kapolei.

Sandwich Competition!

2011-12-15T20:39:00.001-10:00

Our much anticipated sandwich competition was today, but the trash talking started weeks ago. $5 entitled our fellow employees to a sampling of all the entries and a vote for the one that they thought was the best. It was a winner-take-all contest, and with so many good cooks in our company, the competition was fierce.

Here's Les and Yosh as they begin to prep. Crunch time!!

Here's the makings of Leslie's panini sandwich.

My Tuna Melt before the melting.

With limited prep space, Yosh was forced to use our lounge sofa.

CQ prepped at her desk.

Michele squeezed in next to Les.

Here is Leslie's Prosciutto/Mozzarella/Basil/Tomato Panini.

Michele's Shoyu Pork in Roll

Yosh's Waffle Sandwich with Maple Butter Topping

CQ's Grilled Veggie Sandwich with Candied Bacon

My Tuna Melt is on the right.

Here is the platter that the judges got. Greg's Chicken with Curry and Alfalfa Sprouts is on the left side of the plate. He sent in his entry from our Ala Moana branch . . . sooo cool yah!!

Here's Mark feeling all stuffed.

And here's da winnah - Leslie!!

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

2011-12-14T20:03:00.000-10:00

NNNNNOOOOOTTTTTT!!!!

This is how I really feel:

2011 Honolulu Marathon

2011-12-13T19:14:00.001-10:00

I got too many photos and not enough time to post the marathon pictures my regular way, so I'm providing a link to my Flickr account for you guys to check out. Above the photos click on "Next" to view all of the pictures.

I didn't walk too far this year . . . I was worried about getting caught in the rain. I'm sooo paranoid about getting sick again. Still I took lots of pictures . . . anybody who caught my eye got their picture taken. Make sure you check out the guy on the stilts. He was pretty amazing!

Click on this link below:

2011 HONOLULU MARATHON

Sherie, Ivan and Family

2011-12-11T19:54:00.000-10:00

I lucked out again with the weather today and was able to meet the Tamuras at Kokohead District Park, my new favorite place. As you can see from my first photo, it was a really fun session, just like our very first photo shoot two years ago. Good thing we got a lot of "keepers" right away 'cause had small-kine mishap shortly after my last photo here so we had to cut the session short. My bad . . . was my idea . . . oops!

Allison and Mister

2011-12-10T21:31:00.001-10:00

I met coworker Allison and her cat Mister today at Ala Moana Beach Park. The rain held up just long enough for us to finish our shoot and then it started pouring. Mister was a tad nervous, but all in all he did great.

The Common Cold

2011-12-08T21:56:00.009-10:00

I am almost at 100%. I still got a cough, but my back is way better. I started carrying my heavy camera everyday again. I hope to not get sick again for a long, long time, so I went online to find out more about "the common cold". Hope this helps some of you.

Prevention

Unlike various strains of influenza virus, which tend to travel in airborne droplets, cold viruses prefer a physical transmission route: from your hands to your nose or eyes, and then to the nasopharynx — where the nose meets the mouth at the back of the throat (and where most colds begin). The nasopharynx, where the nose meets the mouth, is the “sweet spot” for cold viruses.

There are hundreds of viruses that cause the common cold, and most of them are rhinoviruses, which need to get into the mucous membranes lining the nose or into the tear ducts in order to cause infection. That means touching your face — specifically your nose and eyes — is the primary way people give themselves cold germs. You’re far more likely to catch a cold from touching an infected person’s water glass and then wiping your eye or picking your nose than you are from drinking a sip of the sick person’s water!

Studies have shown that most cold viruses can survive for up to three hours on nonporous surfaces such as doorknobs, countertops, and coffee cups. They can also survive on people’s hands for several hours if they don’t wash them. That’s why hand washing — after you shake hands, after you open a door, after you push a shopping cart — is item number one in your anticold defense manual. If you kill cold germs on your hands before you transfer them to your nose or eyes, you stop a cold before it can start.

Cure

Sleep: While you sleep, your body recharges your immune system, which is what fights off a cold.

Liquids: A lot of water, juice, and clear broth or warm lemon water with honey are the best fluids to rely on. Fluids help your body heal from a cold by loosening congestion and preventing dehydration.

Chicken soup: Scientists believe chicken soup acts as an anti-inflammatory by inhibiting the movement of neutrophils, the cells of the immune system that mount the body’s inflammatory response. Hot chicken soup also temporarily speeds up the movement of mucus through the nose, helping relieve congestion and limiting the amount of time viruses are in contact with the lining of the nasal passages.

Gargle with salt water: Dissolve a half teaspoon of salt in an 8-ounce glass of warm water and gargle with it. The reason this time-honored home remedy works is that a sore throat occurs when the throat tissues become inflamed by bacteria and germs. This inflammation takes the form of tiny fluid-filled bumps called edemas. The dehydrating action of salt draws out the edema fluid, killing the bacteria, which require a warm, moist environment to survive.

“Irrigate” your nose with saline: Studies show that over-the-counter saline nasal sprays work to combat stuffiness and congestion and also reduce the amount of time that virus particles are in the nasal passages. A neti pot, an alternative therapy gaining in popularity, is basically another nasal irrigation technique that puts the saline solution directly into the nasal passages.

Read more: 16 Ways to Stop a Cold

Campbell Avenue Again

2011-12-07T19:49:00.000-10:00

If you type "kapahulu" in the Search This Blog box on the right side of this page, you'll see that I have a lot of posts for Kapahulu, and that's mostly because that's where my car mechanic's shop is and I usually spend the hour it usually takes to do a maintenance service by walking around the area. Today I decided to pick up lunch from Diamond Head Market and Grill so I walked along Campbell Avenue again. Here are just a few pictures. It started drizzling and I'm scared to get sick again, so I kinda walked fast and didn't really linger around in one spot for too long.

Gulnaz

2011-12-05T21:15:00.002-10:00

Gulnaz was 19 years old when she was tied up and raped by her cousin's husband. Her attacker was married, so she was sentenced to three years for adultery. Now she must marry her rapist or stay jailed. Isn't that just insane?! And get this . . . the article also says that there are more than 300 women currently in prison who face a similar situation. This is in Afghanistan - home of the burqa. What is wrong with those people?

CBS NEWS

Rosalyn, Gordon and Family

2011-12-05T08:11:00.001-10:00

The Bantolinas are such a cute family. I just loooove them. Remember Earl from my previous post? Gordon is his brother. Back in 2007 when Ros was still pregnant with Megan, she entrusted me with doing her famly pictures. I was so grateful that she was willing to give me a chance, but I remember being very, very nervous. Click here to see those pictures. And click here to see how Megan made me famous.

Joy, Earl and Family

2011-12-04T14:43:00.000-10:00

I just love Joy and Earl's family. They are just so much fun to shoot. I knew they wouldn't mind walking into the woods at Kokohead District Park. I was right except the kids kept asking Earl if he found a dead body yet. I guess this venue is not for most everyone . . . but hey I like the look. Thank you Joy!! It was nice seeing you folks again.

The Foster and Ogata Families

2011-12-03T19:57:00.000-10:00

I am sooo happy that I was able to take pictures of sisters Cindy and Stacie's families today. I felt horrible last weekend when I had to cancel Cindy's family's shoot at the last minute because of my bad back. Luckily the weather held up today and we were able to meet first thing this morning. The kids were just so awesome and sweet. Even though Carter woke up with a fever I could tell that he was trying his best to be cooperative. Brennan and Haley were da bomb too!!! Thank you Cindy and Stacie. I had good fun today.

Foster Family

Ogata Family

Cy's Crab-Stuffed Mushrooms

2011-12-01T19:52:00.000-10:00

My brother made this for Thanksgiving. It was super ono. In fact, it was my main dish. He got the recipe from here.

Sorry, but this is the only dish that I got for you from this year's gathering. I got sidelined by my backache. Hopefully I'll do better at our next gathering.

Raku

2011-11-29T10:11:00.000-10:00

My sister Geri is taking a Parks and Rec pottery class. They meet every Tuesday night at the Makua Alii Senior Center on Kalakaua Avenue. Geri invited me to watch the firing of Raku pieces that the class had made earlier. It was soooo interesting, and the pieces soooo beautiful.

Just Two

2011-11-27T20:43:00.001-10:00

The Kawadas at Kokohead District Park

Loraine and her son Paul at Moanalua Garden

Ailey and Family

2011-11-26T18:56:00.000-10:00

I met up with the Yamadas and the Takayesus this morning at Koko Head District Park for some Christmas card picture taking. The best thing about the park is it's about 5 minutes from my house. I loved the look of the area in the park that I picked, although I'm not sure my models liked trekking into the rugged terrain. Thanks for being such sports guys . . . the pictures turned out just how I imagined.

The Evolution of Crystal Chandelier

2011-11-24T19:08:00.000-10:00

Sometime last year Leslie introduced me to the blog The Evolution of the Crystal Chandelier. Les had just met the writer Cris Tolbert at her church. Um . . . yes . . . Leslie goes to church . . . once in awhile.

Cris' story intrigued me, and I looked forward to her posts. In her words, it is "The true story of my childhood and how I was eventually rescued from it." I She took a break from blogging for about a year, but has recently started posting again. I hope you will join me and start reading her blog, so that you can get to know Cris as I have and then come to know that there is always hope, despite the most adverse conditions that might have been brought your way.

Wendell's Soba with Leek

2011-11-23T08:37:00.000-10:00

Wendell made this last night. Most impressive was that he made his own "char siu" topping. Recipes are here.

Burqa

2011-11-20T15:58:00.001-10:00

I AM SICK AGAIN!! It's so irritating. Agggrrrr. Now my back is sore from all the coughing. Had to cancel my shoots for this weekend. It sucks to be me!

At least I don't have to wear a burqa. Do you make "smiling eyes" for your pictures?

Somebody else can vote for you. How can they tell?

Must be hard for glasses wearers like me.

And you get no respect.

At least you can shop online at Zarinas and get a variety of styles.

I kinda like this green one.

And when you go hunting you can wear this one.

On fourth of July you can wear this one.

Do you know that it's illegal for a woman to drive in Saudi Arabia? I guess that's good 'cause how can you see good through that veil thing covering the eye slit?

Wendell's Stir-Fry Salt and Pepper Shrimp

2011-11-18T09:10:00.000-10:00

Wendell made this last night. It was sooooo gooooood. He got the recipe here.

Koko Head Park

2011-11-16T19:32:00.005-10:00

I checked out Koko Head Park this morning before work to see if it had potential as a site for Christmas card picture taking. I found myself at the start of the path to Koko Head Crater looking at this collection of photos draped over these pipes. I wonder what it means.

Update: My friend Linda suggested I google some of the names. I did and found this: 343 Firefighters. The pipes must be water pipes for firefighters to use in case there's a fire in the area.

I found several areas in the park that looked interesting . . . so I'm gonna try and do the next three shoots there. Sure hope the pictures turn out okay. Gonna be a different look from East West Center at least. We'll see.

I saw these pokey stuff near the path to the crater. The light was shining on um just right. I superimposed two different textures to get this look.

Estria Invitational 2011 in Honolulu

2011-11-15T19:54:00.000-10:00

Christmas card picture taking is in full swing for me. Just wanted to let you know that I won't be able to blog as often as I usually do for the next few weeks or so. Hopefully, I'll be able to do some fast-kine posts every now and then.

For today, here's a video of the third Estria Battle of the 2011 season which took place on September 3 at the Honolulu Academy of Arts. Twelve artists battled it out, with Katch1 taking first place and Ckaweeks second.

Leslie is a Finalist!!!

2011-11-14T19:13:00.001-10:00

Judges have selected Leslie's photo as one of the Top 25 photos in HONOLULU Magazine's 7th annual Photo Contest. Voting has begun on Facebook to select the Readers' Choice photo. The photographer with the most votes will win a $100 gift certificate to Ritz Camera and a complimentary 1-year subscription to HONOLULU Magazine. Grand Prize, First, Second and Third place winners will be announced after November 28.

Please, please go to the Honolulu Magazine Facebook page and vote for Leslie's picture even though I am soooooo jealous that they didn't pick my entry. Look for the black and white photo of her two dogs, Mick and Mattie.

Sooooo exciting!!!

Wendy's Birthday Celebration

2011-11-13T11:50:00.000-10:00

Yosh threw a birthday bash for his friend Wendy yesterday at the Kunia Boxcar Track. It was my second time there in recent months and just as fun as the first time.

Here is my "speed demon" effect thanks to Photoshop. As you'll see from the rest of my pictures, they don't really go that fast.

It was a perfect beautiful, sunny day for racing.

Here are Yosh and Wendy.

The gang.

Yosh went to Waipahu to pick up 35 K's bento, after Sumo Bento screwed up and neva have his order ready for him when he went to pick them up and were too busy to accommodate him. Howzdat hah?!! It was ono.

Persimmon

2011-11-12T09:55:00.000-10:00

Coworker Michele gave me two persimmons. Can somebody tell me the best way to eat it? I have no clue. Do you eat it crunchy? Let it get soft? Refrigerate? Do you eat the skin?

Shanon and Brandon - 11/11/11

2011-11-11T21:37:00.000-10:00

When I did Shanon and Brandon's engagement pictures back in February, their 11/11/11 wedding day seemed a long time away. Time just flew by and today was the big day. They had hired a professional photographer to shoot the main event, but I did get to go to Ewa this morning to catch the family getting ready. It was very much a family affair, and I enjoyed spending time with them as they prepared for this very special occasion.

Way Back Home: Edinburgh to Skye

2011-11-10T22:44:00.000-10:00

Enjoy the beautiful scenery of Scotland by Danny MacAskill.

Dinner at Gyotaku Niu Valley

2011-11-09T20:42:00.001-10:00

As you will shortly see, me and Wendell can grind. And we really, really enjoyed ourselves this past Saturday at Gyotaku in Niu Valley. We pretty much ate everything shown here, and only took a little bit home . . . *oink* *oink*. Thank you for the gift card Dean!!

Crab Cake Lettuce Wrap ($11.95)

Yummmm!!

Agedashi Tofu ($5.95). I just love this.

Wendell's sushi: Salmon ($2.00), Hamachi ($2.50) and Ahi poke ($2.35)

California Roll ($6.75)

Our dinner came with salad, miso soup and tsukemono.

Wendell's combination Tempura, Tonkatsu and Misoyaki Salmon ($19.95)

My Misoyaki Butterfish and Tempura ($22.95). Oishiiiii!

Chapter One - New Birth: Drift and Body Competition

2011-11-08T09:18:00.000-10:00

High Society 1/10th RC Chapter put on a drift and body competition this past Sunday at the Manoa District Park. I was able to spend a couple of hours shooting for them before my shoot with Michele and her family. I know absolutely nothing about this type of remote control "small car" kine competition stuff, but all I can say is it's the coolest, coolest thing. I would love to shoot for them again, now that I kinda know what it's all about, and maybe I can do a better job next time. Geoff, thanks for asking me to come out. Please let me know when you guys get together again!

Michele, Kalin and Len

2011-11-07T08:43:00.000-10:00

My family was supposed to get together yesterday, but stuff happened and it got canceled at the last minute. At work I half jokingly asked coworker Michele if her family was free to take pictures. Michele is pretty camera shy, so I couldn't believe it when she said, "Yes." I think I mighta said, "Huh?" Never hurts to ask, yah!

We met at you-know-where. Kalin was a bundle of energy. I asked him to give me some of it. He was a great model . . . very natural and comfortable in front of the camera. So good fun. Thanks Michele! Hope we can do it again sometime.

Glazed Miso Pork Belly with Vegetable Stew

2011-11-06T19:16:00.000-10:00

Wendell made this a couple of nights ago. The recipe is from the same Star-Advertiser article that had the Sparerib Stew recipe which I posted on Thursday. The pork belly was way too fatty for me, so I scraped off all the fat. It was very, very tasty though.

Pork:
1 2-lb piece pork belly
1 inch ginger, crushed
Salt
1/2 c white miso
1 tbs sugar
1 tsp grated ginger
1 tsp awamori or mirin

Stew:
1/2 kabocha squash, seeds removed
1 Okinawan sweet potato, peeled
1 6-inch piece lotus root, peeled
8 ounces Hamakua mushrooms
1 cup dashi
1 tbs shoyu
1 tbs mirin
4 stalks green onion, trimmed

Cover pork belly with cold water and bring to a rolling boil. Drain and rinse. Return pork to pot and add enough water to cover. Add crushed ginger and pinch of salt. Bring to simmer and cook until pork is tender, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Remove from liquid and let cool.

In small bowl, mix together miso, sugar, grated ginger and awamori. Set aside.

For stew, cut kabocha into 1-inch slices, sweet potato into large pieces and lotus root into pieces 1/4-inch thick. Trim tough stems from mushrooms and halve or slice larger ones. In pan, combine dashi, shoyu and mirin. Add vegetables and cook until just tender. Cut green onions into 2-inch lengths and add to stew. Cover and set aside.

Preheat broiler. Slice pork into 1/2 to 3/4 inch slices. Place slices on broiler pan and broil until lightly brown, about 2 minutes. Turn over and spread miso mixture over pork. Continue to cook until miso bubbles and browns.

Divide stew into shallow bowls and top with pork belly. Serves 4.

Sparerib Soup with Okinawan Soba

2011-11-03T19:47:00.000-10:00

When I got home from work today, I could hear Wendell yelling from the kitchen, "Welcome home dearest!" Okay, maybe he didn't say that. Maybe he said, "Come here." I went into the kitchen to see Wendell dressed in his softball uniform, looking like he was all ready to leave. He added, "This is what you gotta do for tonight's dinner. Take this noodles and throw it in boiling water for just a minute. Put the noodles in your bowl, add this soup and then garnish with this ginger and green onions." "K, gotta go." So romantic yah!

He got the recipe from yesterday's Honolulu Star-Advertiser. It was really ono, but I did add a little more shoyu to my portion.

2 to 3 pounds spareribs, cut into 2-inch lengths
6 cups dashi
1 inch ginger, crushed
1 tbs. shoyu
Salt
1 bunch choi sum
4 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms
1 to 2 carrots
1 14-ounce packages Sun Noodle Okinawan soba
Pickled red ginger

Cover spareribs with water and bring to a rolling boil. Drain and rinse pork. Cut ribs into sections.

Combine dashi, ginger, shoyu, pinch of salt and ribs. Bring to simmer, and cook until spareribs are tender, about 45 minutes to 1 hour. Taste broth for seasoning, adding more salt and shoyu if necessary.

Cut choi sum into 3-inch lengths, shiitake in halves and carrots into julienne strips. Add vegetables to spareribs and cook 1 to 2 minutes more.

Meanwhile, bring pot of water to boil, add soba noodles and cook 1 minute.

Drain and divide into bowls. Top with spareribs, vegetables and broth. Garnish with pickled ginger. Serves 4.

Halloween 2011

2011-11-02T20:06:00.006-10:00

Not too many of my coworkers dressed up this year, but always good sports about getting into the spirit are our PSRs.

After work I went to CQ's house. Her brother Chris was gonna park his Da ala Cart truck in their driveway and serve some of his onolicious kushiyaki food. Hooo hoooo!!! I was soooooo looking forward to it!

Here's the food that CQ "spent all day preparing". You know what that means . . . she bought um. Was really good though.

Jacob and CQ acking cute.

Erick. I let him borrow my "costume".

Here's Kaori, CQ's daughter.

Here's the menu. Uhhhh . . . that's about all I got for you . . . the menu. Uhhh . . . no more pikchas of the food. Uhhh . . . I kinda forgot. Uhhh . . . I was hungry . . . and the food was so good . . . and I was too busy grinding. Uhhhh . . . soooorry.

But you can check it out here and here and here and even here.

Chris is not at Don Quijote anymore, but you can follow him on Facebook and Twitter to keep abreast on where his truck is daily.

KMR '70 Halloween Party Video

2011-11-02T07:52:00.000-10:00

Here's a short 5-minute video from the Halloween party. Kinda blurry, but still funny.

KMR '70 Halloween Party - 10/29/2011

2011-11-01T09:35:00.000-10:00

Last December I had the pleasure of taking pictures at a Winter Ball put together by a group consisting of Kaimuki/McKinley/Roosevelt Class of '70 grads. I thought THAT party was a blast . . . but you shoulda seen THIS Halloween celebration! It was sooo much fun just watching these old guys (I can say that 'cause I'm the same age) party.

I did get some video too, but they're not that great, mostly 'cause I pretty much suck at it. I'll take another look at them and maybe post um anyway later.

Dean, Dora and Dawn

2011-10-31T08:06:00.000-10:00

Dean and I met more or less because of our blogs. Dean loves to surf and like me, likes to share pictures and stories about his adventures. His blog is called Courtsdawn patrol. Mostly he updates us on surfing conditions, but Dean also shares other aspects of his life including food from various places that he's eaten at and food that he himself has cooked. Yes, Dean cooks! He also takes awesome pictures. His early-morning sunrises are gorgeous. A little while back when the surf was kinda big, the ocean took Dean's camera. He searched and searched for it, but never could find it. Then the coolest, coolest thing happened. His buddies took up a collection and bought him another camera, an even better one than the one he'd lost! Sooooo awesome yah! So with new camera, he was able to update us daily while he and his family vacationed on the Big Island recently. He mentioned trying some date bars which a friend had recommended. I commented and said that I love date bars . . . and guess what? He brought me back some . . . and at that time, I hadn't even met him yet! Howzdat yah! So nice!

I was so happy when Dean asked if I could take pictures of his family to use for their Christmas card this year. We met at my favorite East West Center. I was kinda taken aback when they emerged from their car all decked out in their finery. I was more used to seeing them dressed in day-to-day casual clothes on Dean's blog. What a treat! I really had a blast. It was like spending time with old friends.

Here's the date bars that Dean gave me.

It was some ono!

Rumors: I Heard It Through the Grapevine

2011-10-30T14:45:00.004-10:00

The performers of T-Shirt Theatre will be doing another show next month called Rumors: I Heard It Through the Grapevine. Show dates are:

Thursday, November 3 ~ 7:00 pm
Sunday, November 6 ~ 4:30 pm

I was so glad to have been able to catch their dress rehearsal last Thursday. I had a great time. You can tell that the kids really enjoy performing . . . their energy and enthusiasm are contagious. Just watching their expressions totally crack me up.

Here are just a few of the shots that I took. Can you please try to ignore the huge white panel in the background. The New Hope people also use the auditorium and *ahem* left the panel onstage.

Here are this year's seniors.

Ailey - 15 months

2011-10-29T15:25:00.000-10:00

Less than 3 hours ago me, Jamie, Tyson and Ailey were at Duck Island in Hawaii Kai taking Ailey's 15-month pictures. In two hours I'm meeting Ailey's grandma at a Halloween party at Treetops!

I was looking forward to playing around with more textures on these photos, so I got to it right after our shoot. I'm thinking of entering the first shot into Honolulu Magazine's Photo Contest. The theme this year is "Portraits".

Baby Chris J. Patrick Resurrection

2011-10-28T21:38:00.000-10:00

Not even a day old for these two photos, coworker Runa's baby was born yesterday at 1:42 p.m. Small-kine premature (about 3 weeks) he weighed 5 pounds, 3 ounces and is the cutest, cutest thing! I arrived just in time this morning to catch mommy and baby enjoying a skin-to-skin bonding moment.

My New Chair

2011-10-27T19:35:00.000-10:00

My company bought me a new chair without my knowing. When I found out I said, "Whaaaaa?? I don't need a new chair." Mel said, "You need a new chair. Yours is an eye sore."

Here's my new chair.

It's a Eurotech chair.

Here's my old chair. Now tell me . . . does it make your eyes sore?

My new chair has three positioning levers on one side.

And one on the other side, but I still don't trust that it's not gonna make my back sore.

So I'm keeping my old chair tucked away just in case I need it back.

Michele's Baked Beans

2011-10-26T20:14:00.002-10:00

We had a potluck last Friday at work . . . just because Michele and Rachael wanted to. How cool is that yah! Michele's baked beans was super, super ono. It's so awesome that she's always willing to share her recipes.

I forgot to get a close-up picture of the baked beans before we dug into it.

This is how it looked with all the gooey ono cheese still intact.

Here's Michele's recipe:

1/2 package bacon, 1/4 inch slices
1 pound hamburger
1 portugese sausage, chopped
3-4 hot dogs, chopped
1 round onion, diced

Fry bacon, add hamburger, sausage, and hot dogs, and then round onion.

Sauce:
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup ketchup
1 tsp Coleman's dry mustard
1 tsp Worcestershire

Mix above and add to meat mixture above along with 3 cans pork and beans and 1 can black beans (don't drain, use whole can).

Bake @ 350 for 45 minutes covered and then add cheddar cheese and broil for 5 minutes or until melted.

Another favorite which got wiped out was Yosh's Cream of Mushroom Soup.

And Allison's Chicken Broccoli Hotdish.

This wasn't really a part of the potluck, but I wanted to show you. Michele had picked this up earlier from The Alley Bakery. It was wonderful!!

See.

Mouse Rollover

2011-10-25T17:41:00.003-10:00

HOLY MOLY!!! It took me forever to figure out how to do this. I can't believe it works!

Hold your mouse over Kona and it will change to a texturized picture. You might have to wait a few seconds at first. Before and After. Before and After. Hooo hoooo!!!!

I got the instructions here.

Tysha's Maternity Shoot

2011-10-23T22:14:00.000-10:00

I met Tysha and Tk at the East West Center today for Tysha's maternity shoot. Even after doing Runa's maternity shoot, and even though I brought pictures with me, I'm still kinda lost on the poses. Still it was choke good fun and a great learning experience for me. Thanks Tysha and Tk . . . can't wait to shoot baby Tia!!!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Drawing Winnah

2011-10-23T09:12:00.000-10:00

I'm so texture happy lately that I texturized each of the photos here announcing the winner of my latest giveaway. I used textures offered by Jerry Jones FOR FREE at Shadowhouse Creations. I think it's the bombest thing when people are willing to share their talents for free, don't you?

And the winnah is . . .

FAY!!! AGAIN!!! Fay was the winner of my previous Brownie Mix Giveaway back in March. Congrats Fay. I so cannot believe you won again.

Jared Texturized

2011-10-22T22:51:00.000-10:00

I tagged along with Les today while she shot senior pictures of her friends' son Jared. I was supposed to be assisting her, but I was too busy stealing shots, all the while thinking how cool adding textures to the photos would be. Be sure to check out Leslie's pics too. Thanks for letting me hang out with you Les. Sorry if I got in the way.

I added just a little bit of texture to the background of this picture.

Here's the Before picture of Jared sitting in some dried weeds. I could just imagine how it would look with some orange-colored texture.

Here is the After . . . just how I imagined.

Here's another Before photo.

And here's After. So coooool yah!

One more with texture added to the background.

Textures

2011-10-21T22:02:00.001-10:00

I got this free texture from Jessica Drossin Textures Facebook page. After you click on my link to get to the Facebook page, click on Share and Download to download the texture. You can click on Tutorials on the left side column to learn how to use it.

You basically superimpose the texture onto another photo to give it a different look. Here's Runa before on the left and after on the right.

I also used it on this heavily backlit photo of Runa . . .

to get this.

Then I used it on this photo of Casey . . .

to get this.

One more of Casey. Before . . .

and after.

Jessica Drossin and Gina Kolsrud are sisters, and they do amaaaaaazing work.

Photo Booth

2011-10-20T20:21:00.000-10:00

I think my sister Didi sent me this. I couldn't figure out how to embed the video, so here's a link instead.

http://www.wimp.com/photobooth

Michele's Hot Crab Dip

2011-10-19T19:30:00.000-10:00

Before I even reached the office door today, I could smell the aroma. I was drawn to it. I said, "Wow, that smells wonderful. What is it?" Michele said, "Crab dip." I thought, "What a way to start the day!!"

HOT CRAB DIP (Similar to Ryan's Grill)

2 cups mayo (Best Foods) - Less is okay too.
1 8 oz can artichokes (NOT THE MARINATED ONES)
1 cup crab meat or imitation crab meat
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup chopped white or green onion
1/4 tsp tobasco sauce
paprika

Mix all ingredients together and spread in 9x9 inch square baking dish. Sprinkle with paprika. Broil 10 minutes before serving or until heated through. Serve with crackers or bread.

Here are Rachael and CQ acting natural.

and Yosh.

This is the last of the dip. There was no leftover. Nelson remarked that it's things like this that make the day special. I agree. Thanks Michele!

Kristen

2011-10-18T19:52:00.001-10:00

I want to add one more picture from the T & L Muumuu shoot.

Dinner at CPK

2011-10-17T19:41:00.000-10:00

Jamie (Ailey's mom) gave me a CPK gift card, so a couple of weeks ago me and Wendell went to check them out. I LOVED everything we ordered, but the appetizer . . . the Lettuce Wrap with Chicken and Shrimp . . . was broke-da-mouth ono. It is now up there as one of my favorite things to eat EVER. Thanks Jamie!! We both really enjoyed ourselves.

Sooooo ono Lettuce Wrap ($9.75)

Roasted Vegetable Salad ($13.85). I don't remember how much extra it was for the shrimp. The serving was HA-YUGE. We shoulda ordered the half size.

Sicilian Pizza, thin crust ($14.60)

Hot Fudge Sundae ($6.50). I told Wendell, "No, no, no", but he insisted we get this. So I said, "Oh all right then, I'll help you eat it."

T & L Muumuu Factory Photo Shoot

2011-10-16T21:58:00.004-10:00

Hoo hooo, I got to act like one real photographer today!! Models Kris, Lee and Trisha made it so much fun . . . as well as Rena and her husband Chris, and Tony of T & L Muumuu Factory. Thanks for the opportunity, Rena and Tony. I already can't wait for the next time!

Daryl's Birthday Party

2011-10-15T22:17:00.000-10:00

Coworker Mel threw a surprise birthday party for her boyfriend Daryl today at the Box Car Track in Kunia. Everyone, adults as well as kids, had a great time. If you've never been there you should go check it out. You can go without a reservation during their open track hours:

Fridays, Saturdays 2:00 pm -- 6:00 pm
Sundays 9:00 am -- 1:00 pm
Major Holidays (which are both Fed & State ) 2:00 pm -- 6:00 pm

Click here for the Open Track Guidelines.

Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Giveaway

2011-10-14T20:54:00.000-10:00

Yes, it's Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter. I repeat . . . DARK CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER. And I'm giving away two jars. You can share the extra jar with somebody else . . . or not. I owe Leslie big time for turning me on to this. Thanks Les.

Last night I made the Dassant Cinnamon Chip Bread that I got from Ross, and I added a strip of the chocolate peanut butter on top before baking. It came out gooooooood, and it was so easy to make. You just gotta add 1 cup of water and 1 egg . . . that's all. Wendell said he coulda done without the peanut butter and chose to slather on some butter. Coworker Michele said that she liked the combination of the flavors. Sorry, the cake is not part of the prize. It's all gone already.

I'm also giving away this beanie. Cute yah? It's small . . . newborn size . . . good as a baby shower gift. The flower is detachable.

I also made this key ring with the beads I got from WalMart. I love the colors!

As usual, either leave a comment here or e-mail me at JalnaA@aol.com and your name will be put into a hat (actually container). Wendell will draw the winning name on Sunday 10/23 and I will announce the winner the same day. Hooo hooo. Good luck! Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter!!

Upcoming Prize Giveaway Hints

2011-10-13T20:54:00.000-10:00

When Les came back from her recent trip to New York she brought back with her this stuff that was soooo ono. And then she make it even better by putting it into some homemade mochi. I had to have more. I was shocked when I found out that Amazon carried it. I ordered a whole bunch to give away. Les is mad at me now 'cause I stole one of her best omiyage ideas. Sorry Les.

My order from Amazon just came in. Here's a hint. I'm gonna give away two jars to the lucky winner.

I'm also working on this. I'm almost pau. Hint: It'll fit a newborn.

And I'm including this. It'll be just a small giveaway. Stay tuned.

Crystal Noodle Soup

2011-10-12T20:40:00.000-10:00

CQ bought me this instant noodle soup from either Don Quixote or Marukai . . . she said she can't remember which one.

The flavor brick came out of the pouch on the left. You place it on top of the noodles and fill the bowl with hot water. Then let it set for 3 minutes.

Then you squeeze in the sesame paste.

And mix it up. It was as ono as it looks . . . probably loaded with sodium, but sooooo good.

Here is CQ acting natural for me as she tastes the onoliciousness of the soup. Let me tell you something about CQ and me. The L-shaped room that we work in is separate from the main office, and not very large. CQ sits on one end of the L and I on the other, so we can't see each other when we're at our desks. There are about 8 of us, all kinda squeezed into this room. We pretty much all get along. Awhile back though, I got called into the office manager's office. I think somebody complained. You see, the problem with CQ and me is . . . we totally crack each other up. Compounding the problem is the fact that we are both not quiet when it comes to laughing. So I did agree with the office manager that we can be quite disruptive . . . especially when other people are trying to work. And I did agree to try and contain our jocularity. This talk happened years ago, and for the most part, I don't really know how successful we've been, but we're trying. It's just not easy sometimes.

Colin - 16 months at f2.8

2011-10-12T09:27:00.000-10:00

I went to visit my mom this past weekend and was hoping that Colin would still be home so that I could get some shots of him. I'm trying to practice portrait shooting with large apertures. I got there just in time. Colin and his mom Diem were at the door preparing to leave. The overcast noon-day skies engulfed Colin in a soft glow that almost took my breath away. In 5 seconds I had my camera out of my backpack and got off 4 shots. I like this one the best.

1/320, f2.8, ISO 320 with my least-favorite-but-trying-to-like 85mm f1.2 lens

Wendell's Warabi Salad

2011-10-11T19:59:00.000-10:00

Wendell bought this warabi maybe a week or so ago and he kept forgetting about it. He finally made this warabi salad last night. It was so simple yet so ono. He followed the recipe from The Tasty Island blog, although he left out a couple of the ingredients.

He parboiled the cut up warabi and then after cooling added cucumber, tomatoes, ocean salad (he said was expensive - like 9 something a pound), and kamaboko.

He also added a lot of Pietro shoyu dressing. It was very refreshing, and I loved the crunch.

Kaimuki High School Class of '71 40th Reunion - Part 3

2011-10-10T19:17:00.001-10:00

Here is the final set. I really, really did have a great time, and I'm looking forward to the next "Reuniting".

I love this first picture. I think it says it all.

Colette and Larry duet

Darrell Terada

2011-10-10T16:30:00.000-10:00

Part 3 reunion pictures coming up, but I liked how this photo of Darrell turned out so much that I'm giving him his own special post. This was my last picture of the night taken while Darrell was putting on his socks and shoes and while I was waiting for Wendell to pick me up.

Kaimuki High School Class of '71 40th Reunion - Part 2

2011-10-10T00:03:00.007-10:00

Here we go peoples. This is Part 2, the posed shots. Don't forget to watch the video at the end, it's of Mike Kaawa singing. I'm gonna attempt to put people's names on the pictures. Forgive me if I get some wrong. The women's names will be maiden names. And sorry, I didn't get the names of some of you who weren't wearing your name tags. Part 3, the last part (I think) will be the candid shots. I'll be working on those tomorrow after work and should be posting the pictures soon.

From left, Dexter Zane (Dexter told my sister Didi to remind me to send in my RSVP), Karl Kaneshiro (don't tell but I used to like him), Gayle Tanabe, Randy Kunselman, Edwina Sin (she's the one who asked me to take pictures).

Derrick Shimabukuro, Lynette Maeda, Robert Lau

Cynthia Murotake, Mae Fukuda

Stephanie Lukela, Lori Abe, Bev Shintani, Eleanor Haake

Virginia Fiske, Robert Lau

Lloyd Nakamura, Nathan Iha

Donna Noborikawa, Eric Ota, Lois Nagamine

Steven Kim, Frances Kanuha, Gwen Andrade, Bev Vierra, Elsie Foster

Lawrence Nakano, Gayle Terada, Richard Gomoto (don't tell but I used to like him)

Vickie Cozloff, Mike Kaawa, Paulette Franco

Kelsey Higa, William Bow, Andrew Sekine, Dexter Zane, Robert Kong, Glenn Teraoka (Glenn also took pictures).

Michael Kamida, Betty Uyeno, Carol Sugiyama, Garyce Miyake, Alan Teraoka

Alan Nakamura, Irene Horiuchi, Laurie Tamashiro, Darrell Terada, Janet Akiyama

Back: Glenn Teraoka, Alvin Goo, Alan Fujii (don't tell but I used to like him), Wayne Hirano. Front: Dennis Tong, Robert Kong

Laurie Tamashiro, Valerie Hamano, Janet Katsura

Keith Sakata, Jo-Ann Ing, Walter Yamaguchi

Brant Nishizuka, Iris Uramoto, Gary Tasato

Susan Chau, Colette Yamashita, Michael Shintani

Michael Shintani, Jonathan Suzuki, Nathan Iha

Standing: Edwina Sin, Bev Vierra, Dottie Fisher, Tina Murray. Sitting: Frances Kanuha, Elsie Foster

Janet Katsura, Jo-Ann Ing, Bev Shintani

Sam Prestidge, Frank Sera, Montgomery Kalai, Douglas Kamakani

Michael Kamida, Yukie, Kuulei Fukumoto, Richard Gomoto (again)

Edwina Sin and Gayle Tanabe

Valerie Hamano, Velma Ko (Velma is the one who e-mailed me and asked if I was going to the reunion and I said no), Stephanie Lukela, Bev Shintani

Michael Kamida, Garyce Miyake, Nathan Iha

Russell Takara, Lyle Miyaji, Richard Gomoto (and again)

Tina Murray, Kathleen Hamasaki, Colleen Hayashi

Betty-Ann Igawa, Douglas Kamakani, Lynette Maeda, June Corpuz, Lyle Miyaji

Derrick Shimabukuro, Eric Ota, Harold Matsushima. Sitting: Dennis Tong

Darrell Terada, Alan Fujii, Dottie Fisher

Alan Nakamura, Irene Horiuchi, Michele Oshita, Sandy Kaneshiro, Richard Gomoto (and again)

Hoo hoo, I get to hug stud muffin Karl Kaneshiro!

Russell Takara and Alden Hendersen (don't tell, but you know)

You-know-who-already and You-know-who

Kuulei Fukumoto, Steven Kim, Sandy Kaneshiro, Tina Murray

Back row: Betty Uyeno, Gayle Terada, Cynthia Murotake, Iris Uramoto, Mae Fukuda. Front row: Lori Abe, Carol Sugiyama, Colette Yamashita, Ann Moriyasu

Frances Kanuha, Mike Kaawa, Elsie Foster

Garyce Miyake and Ann Moriyasu - still skinny and pretty . . . DAMNIT. Nah, nah . . . kidding . . . *ahem* . . . yah . . . kidding

Derrick Shimabukuro, Debra Mero, Ailona Felix

Lance Watari (don't tell but . . . )

Beth-Ann Strickland, Dottie Fisher, Debra Mero

Henry Terada

Back row: Vickie Cozloff, Paulette Franco, Debra Mero, Ailona Felix, Dottie Fisher, Montgomery Kalai. Sitting: Frances Kanuha, Elsie Fisher, Gwen Andrade.

Ailona Felix and Frances Kanuha

Mike Kaawa, Noren Takamura

June Corpuz, Cynthia Chu, Kuulei Fukumoto. You like hear something funny? At the reunion June goes, "Cynthia, you remember Jalna. Jalna, you remember Cynthia." We both look at each other's name tags. I go, "Yeah, sure . . . " but I'm actually thinking "I have no idea who she is." In the meantime Cynthia goes, "Hmmmm, no, I don't remember." I bust out laughing and I go, "Yeah, you know what? I don't either."

Kuulei and her mom. Her mom is 92 years old, healthy and sharp as a whip.

And here's Mike Kaawa