Cool Picture

I'm not quite back yet, but thought I'd give you a new picture to look at in case you're checking.  I didn't take this shot, by the way.  Found it online somewhere awhile back.

Makai Pier

I'm gonna be taking off from blogging for a couple of weeks or so, so I wanted to leave a nice picture here for you to see when you come back to check.  I know you cannot trust me 'cause every time I say I'm not gonna post for awhile, I lie.  But I have a few things on the back burner that I want to tend to so I'm gonna try to stay away from here for a bit which will give me more time to take care of them. 

Sorry to disappoint; bye, see you soon.

Beaded Bracelet Winnahs!

I had to wait for Wendell to wake up this morning so that he could pull the winning names for me.  And now I'm gonna add to the suspense by showing you a few pictures from yesterday first before announcing them to you.

When I went to water my plants in the morning I saw this grasshopper on a leaf.  So cute yah!


Then I noticed more!  I imagined those future-adult mandibles chomping on the leaves of my lemon plants.  So I slowly moved the pot faaaaaar away to another part of the yard and then shooed them off onto the grass.  Hopefully, they won't find their way back again.


While waiting for my eye doctor's appointment yesterday I watched these construction workers across the way.  The crane intrigued me.  Look at how big it is compared to the workers. I wondered how they constructed the crane.  How in the world did they set it up? What about super, super tall buildings?  Does it grow with the building? Is the base on the ground?  And the driver who operates the thing . . . does he have to climb up and down the crane everyday? What about bathroom and lunch breaks? And when they're all pau, how do they dismantle the crane?  Is it in pieces?  And what about storing it when not in use?  I wonder . . . 


Me and Wendell went to Mandalay for lunch.  I ordered a Chinese Chicken Salad and I think I ate about three pieces of dim sum. 

For dinner I started with this smoked salmon and tofu dish that I threw together.


And then I had a salad that I concocted with fish cake and a boiled egg over some spinach. I poured some Pietro shoyu dressing on top. It was good.


And so now I'll quit stalling and announce that the first-place winner of my bracelet giveaway is . . .  Jenny!!!  Congrats Jenny!  Can you email me at JalnaA@aol.com with your two choices and your mailing address?   And . . .  the second-place winner is . . .


Akemi!  Hoo hoo.  Akemi, can you email me your mailing address also?  I'll be sending you the remaining two bracelets.  Congratulations!

One More Dog Video

Thanks for sharing, Geri!

Happy Birthday CQ!

Today is CQ's birthday!  CQ's taking off today, so we celebrated her birthday yesterday.

Mich picked up this Lemon Crunch Cake from The Alley.  It's my favorite!  I was good and only had a tiny, little sliver.




Mich also picked up lunch from Sakura Terrace.  This is the Sakura Chirashi Don ($18).


Unagi Don ($19.00)


Yakiniku Don ($9.50)


Pumpkin Nimono ($5.25)


Tonjiru Miso Soup ($4).  In case you're wondering . . . this is mine.


Because of our Biggest Loser Competition, I weigh myself every morning now.  Wouldja believe I gained a pound since yesterday!  That totally sucks. But . . . my total weight loss after one week of dieting is  . . . 4 pounds.  

Yesterday's Meals

Coworker Lorna pulled my name and so is my biggest supporter in our Biggest Loser competition at work.  She made me an awesome fruit smoothie which I had for lunch along with a banana. She said it's made with yogurt and soy milk.  It was so ono and filling.  Thanks Lorna!!



When I got home from work, I was greeted with a wonderful aroma coming from the kitchen. Wendell said that he was heating up food that Landon had bought from Aina Haina Foodland.  He said it's from the butcher section (not the Deli), and so I think it's premade but uncooked.

I ate half a stick of this pork belly skewer. It was OMG ono!


This is a Seafood Mushroom Cap.  I cut one in half, ate it . . . went back for the other half . . . ate that . . . then went back and ate another whole one.  I couldn't stop myself, it was that good. Plus it was tiny . . . like only an inch in diameter.  Okay, maybe a little bigger than that.


I also had a spinach salad with a boiled egg.  Then later in the evening, while Wendell ate some oreo cookies, I had a few cherries.  Okay, maybe more than a few.  Maybe like half the bag.  Hey, I trying, k.

My Subaru Impreza

My Rav4 was only 3 years old, and at the time that we bought it I thought it would be the last car that I would ever own. But Aunty was having a hard time getting in and out of it, and after a traumatic incident a few weeks ago with me and my sisters where she ended up sitting on the ground in a parking lot, me and Wendell decided to get another car . . . one with a low chassis for Aunty.

We had actually been looking around for awhile, and this past weekend we picked up this Subaru Impreza.




In my driving lifetime, I've had a Chevy Nova, a Datsun 510, two Honda Civics, an Acura TL and the Toyota Rav4.  I can honestly say that I like driving this Impreza the best by far.  I wish I had tried one out a long time ago.  I don't know anything about car engineering.  I don't know if it's the all-wheel drive or the "boxer pistons" or the horizontal layout of the engine that makes it so, but I do know that it is the smoothest riding, most easily maneuverable car that I've ever driven. 

With Subaru Hawaii's Summer Sales Event's offering of $1,000 cash discount and with the trade-in for my Rav4, we ended up with a balance of about $9,500.  I think we got a good deal . . . and I just loooove the car.  If you ever are looking for a new car, you should go check it out.  Ask for Rex.

Biggest Loser

About ten of us have entered into a weight-loss competition at work.  We each put $50 into a pot and the person who loses the most percentage weight will win all of the money.  Weigh-in is on November 21. Another ten people pulled names of the participants and have a side bet going on. 

CQ pulled Sterling's name.  Here she is simultaneously supporting Sterling and sabotaging me.

Yesterday, CQ had to go out on an errand and ended up eating a late lunch.  She came back with a ramen from Sumo Ramen.  She said she was in the area, dat's why.  Not because she knows that ramen is like my favorite thing to eat.  And not because she knew I would be starving from having eaten only lettuce myself.  And did I want half? 



Also yesterday, me and co-participant Roland were headed downstairs in our building.  He pressed the button at the elevator.  I said I was gonna take the stairs.  He said, "Waaaait a minute.  I see your game plan.  I'm taking the stairs too."  We practically raced each other down, each trying to get the better work-out.

It's pretty hilarious, the goings-on at my working place now.  Good fun.  Well, wish me luck.  As the oldest participant, I have my work cut out for me.

Beaded Bracelet Giveaway!!

Hooo hoooo!  I stayed up until the wee hours this past week and made four bracelets!  I admit I'm obsessive compulsive when I get interested in something, but I have a feeling that this hobby will be short lived. Although it's fun right now for me to do, wiring each bead is kinda tedious work, and each bracelet got around 20 to 40 beads in um.

I decided that for this giveaway, they'll be two winners.  The first-place winner can pick two bracelets and the second place winner will get the remaining two.  Please keep in mind that most of the beads are from taken-apart swap meet finds so they're not new. And also keep in mind that my teacher was YouTube videos; the workmanship is not that great.










The first-place winner will also get this cell-phone charm.


You can enter the giveaway just by commenting here or sending me an e-mail at JalnaA@aol.com.  Wendell will pull two names next Sunday, July 21.

Wendell's Kamado-Style Brisket

Wendell made this brisket on the 4th of July.  He said that his fire in the kamado was too high so the brisket cooked faster than he had wanted, but it still came out tender and moist and very ono.



He had expected it to take about 8 hours to cook, but the meat was done in about 5.



Before putting the brisket into the kamado, he coated it with a rub that he prepared using a recipe that he found at About.com called Kansas City Rib Rub.  

1/2 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. paprika
1 tbs. black pepper
1 tbs. salt
1 tbs. chili powder
1 tbs. garlic powder
1 tbs. onion powder
1 tsp. cayenne

A Couple of Dog Stories

A dog with a special talent

Wendell's Curried Mahimahi

We had this for dinner last night.  I'm not really into curry, but I liked this dish.  It was like a katsu curry but with the curry flavor infused rather than in a sauce.  The recipe is from What Hawaii Likes to Eat - Hana Hou!

1 pound mahimahi, cut into serving slices

1 egg, beaten

1 c. panko

oil for frying

Combine marinade ingredients:

1 tbs. sugar

1 tsp. salt

1 tbs. mirin

2 tsp. curry powder

2 tbs. cornstarch

1 tbs. shoyu

Marinate fish fillets for 30 minutes.  Dip fish in egg and dredge in panko.  Deep fry until golden brown on both sides.  Drain on absorbent paper.

What Ever Happened to Lucky Luck?

Thanks for sharing, Steven!!

This Past Weekend

We had a couple of errands to do in the Kaimuki area so me, Geri and Sweetie met in the morning this past Saturday. These are mostly iPhone pictures again. I'll be back to lugging around my heavy camera again soon . . . my back's getting better.

We started off at a garage sale on 9th Avenue in Palolo.  I think the lady is a "regular" seller because her set up in her garage didn't look temporary.  Geri found some sandalwood soap. She's planning to leave it unwrapped in her bathroom for the fragrant smell.


I bought these for $6.


We then headed for Kaimuki town.  This newly painted wall on 12th Ave. caught our eye.  On closer look we saw the Otto Cake sign.


The owner decided to relocate to this area after a recent "gun" incident in Chinatown.  He said that he feels a lot more at ease here.


He had just completed a big order, and being unfamiliar with his new kitchen hadn't been able to fully stock his showcase.  Still, what he did have displayed looked really yummy!


We then headed to Kaimuki Camera, and on the way passed by this familiar vegetable stand.


We got our passport pictures taken at Kaimuki Camera.  My picture came out absolutely hideous. Every single wrinkle, blemish, liver spot, uneven skin tone shows up. The real me . . . yuck.  Here is Sweetie practicing her chin jut.  I had just told her my secret to eliminating my double chin in photos.


Nearby to Kaimuki Camera is Aloha Crepes.  I was surprised to see the Aloha Poke Bowls sign in the window. 






Geri wanted to check out Hawaiian Nougat Company which just opened up in Kaimuki across the street from Kaimuki Camera.


They're still not quite set up yet.


We got to sample this nougat. Before tasting it, I was afraid that it might be too brittle for my teeth, but it was perfect in texture . . . nice and chewy . . . and it was delicious.


Starting in August they will be having candy-making classes!


Our next stop was Bead It!  Talk about a reality check.  As one being accustomed to swap meet prices, I was flabbergasted at the price tags.  And as usual, I managed to embarrass myself once again.  There was a table full of "trunk sale" charms.  The sign said $4/gram.  I had no clue how much a gram was, so I grabbed a handful of charms and took them to the counter.  I said, "Can you give me an idea of how many of these make a gram."  She dug through my handful of charms and pulled out the smallest one she could find. She placed it on her scale and said, "This one is 2 grams." I tried not to make my eyes widen up big and said, "Oh, okay. Thank you." Holy moly!  I did buy 2 spools of wire though.  They were $5 each.


We had dim sum for lunch at Happy Days.  Sorry, no photos . . . crappy lighting.  Then we browsed in here on the way to the car.


So so so cute yah!  Glass mushrooms.


I forgot to check the price.


Another new place.


On Sunday we went to Aloha Swap Meet . . . specifically to see the lady with the glassware.  It seems we didn't buy enough from her last week.  Her pieces are so beautiful and her prices so reasonable that Geri's vow of "no more glass" flew out the glass window.


I had to add this picture 'cause it seems so in-theme even though they're made of resin and not glass.


Here are my swap meet finds (taken with my real camera). These pink beads were from a necklace that I took apart. It was $1.  And isn't the plate pretty?  I got it at a Collector's Expo at the Blaisdell.  I think it was around $5.


These beads were on a broken string.  It was also $1.  I bought the bowl yesterday from the glassware lady.  It was $3.


I hand picked these beads that were in a bowl.  The bigger pieces were 25 cents each.  I paid $3 for all. The bowl was $4.


These were $1 each.  The orange carnelian bracelet is actually made with juzu Buddhist prayer beads so I think I'm gonna keep it intact and wear it myself.


The other day, the morning light was coming through the window juuuuust right so I stuck this phone charm onto a plastic container that was on top of my dresser.  I love how the light reflects off the beads.


Look how pretty. See how lighting makes all the difference?  I'm pau with this piece.  I'll be giving away both pieces in my next giveaway.  I'm still not quite sure how I'll be doing the giveaway yet. We'll see. Stay tuned.