I went to a Garage Sale...

You guessed it, this Sunday I went to a garage sale down the street. I was hopeful to score something for under three dollars because that's all I brought with me. I found a cute Lucky peasant top $3, love me some second hand. I found four beautiful handmade Hawaiian wooden bowls for $2. A large bag of fresh fruit from their yard with star fruit, avocados, tangerines $3. Then I saw it... a table. Could it be, an outdoor table? Yes it was. I was already examining it when I found the "Made in Indonesia" printed on the bottom and the solid screws bolted into the legs. I had to ask how much it was and to my utter amazement she said " Oh, $5..." It ended up being a teak table, which is incredibly durable and solidly built.

 Standing right next to me were two grass chairs and a matching bench. Now the seating was in fairly poor condition but we'd be putting cushions down anyway. She sold me the set for $15.  I swiftly told her where we lived and how I'd be right back with more cash. I was so excited to tell Richard and he was glad to give me the money. We moved here in June and have been looking on Craigslist, garage sales and stores off and on for many months for an outdoor table. I spent a total of $28 and got way more than I was expecting. So in the end, waiting for the right price in the right place was so worth the wait!

We chose chicken instead

This year was our first Lee Thanksgiving. No other family, no guests, no big day at my Dads or at my Aunts(whom we missed). Which also meant no turkey. Which was fine because turkey is overrated, there I said it. I don't mean the bird itself, I find them adorable. I'm also not saying the meat, I enjoy the darker meat. And I'm not downing anyone who made a delicious and adorable bird this fine Turkey Day. I'm simply saying that you can get together for the holidays and enjoy being thankful on Thanksgiving without the turkey. So we did that very thing. Call me Anti-American but I enjoyed this day without the famous bird and will probably do it again. Did I ever mention that I'm not competitive. ..Why waste all that time for a pat on the back, it's not for me I guess. We are so blessed and we celebrated Chef Dad for cooking our delicious meal and all in under an hour. We laughed and played all day and I am thankful, so very thankful.

 

The last line is " and the word D!" When we asked him what he meant he said " Whaa... Oh, I meant the world!" : )

Full of Aloha!

A regular saying in Hawaii is " There's a lot of Aloha here" Which means a lot of love, hospitality, compassion. Mahalo means thank you, thankful for. And today especially there is definitely a lot of Aloha in our home. We are so thankful for our friends and family, Happy Thanksgiving everyone! -Lees

Redo Wednesday

I've been off Facebook for two weeks now and am truly not missing IT. I am missing seeing some of my regular friends status updates, seeing newer pictures of what they are up to all over the country but unfortunately I have to give all that up for at least a while. This is what you can call my Lint. I also have been slowly been figuring out how I want to redo the girls newest room pieces. I purchased an all wood toy chest and wood nightstand off of Craigslist with the huge help of my friends Corinne and Taylor, and of course baby Avaleah.

I originally found them as a set of 4 so I offered the other two pieces to Corinney and Tay, only to find out in less than two hours of going to pick them up I would have no furniture to claim. It began at 10 am when we left to pick up the pieces from a nice woman who lived on a military base within twenty minutes. Little did I know that I would be showing up with no wallet(no id) expired and out of state tags as well as no proof or registration. And to my surprise you need all of these to get on base...really? I thought you could show up, sign in on a visitor's sheet, flash a smile and let them know you are merely here to pick up a toy chest off of Craigslist and call it a day. Nope, not at all.

As I tried all of those things and all of those things failed, the security woman told me to leave the property immediately...really? I was actually told to walk across the street and wait...really? When the security woman told Taylor she could not drive my car in to load the furniture I quickly yelled to use my phone to call the nice woman we were picking furniture up from. I was allowed to walk back across the street to my car and while I continued to apologize for the inconvenience the security woman forcefully told me to just well, leave. I started to drive off realizing Taylor put my phone in her purse and got in Corinne's car to drive onto base...really?

So I drove around with no phone, no i.d. no proof of registration with expired tags IN A MILITARY TOWN. Needless to say I was paranoid. Trying to figure out where to pull over(on a one way road) and wait but all there are only entrances to the base so I kept driving back into town. I pulled over to call from a pay phone, but no answer so I eventually drove home.The no wallet thing was all me because I forgot I had driven in Richards car the day before(his tags weren't expired) and Richard had taken out all of my papers that week to get my new tags.

Richard did get our new tags last week and now I'm just trying to figure out how to do the girls kitchen sink and stove. I also have been expressing my recent frustration with a simple word, you guessed it.  Really!

                                     CL Pieces, taller will be the stove smaller will be the sink

                                                         Ideas for the play kitchen

 

Go-Fight-Win-Deny-Pray a little bit?

 

JOE PATERNO: Thank you. One thing: thanks, and pray a little bit for those victims.

STUDENTS: Coach! Coach! You are a legend, Joe!

JOE PATERNO: We are Penn State!

STUDENTS: Yeah! We are Penn State!

JOE PATERNO: Thank you!

STUDENTS: You’re welcome! We love you, Joe! -democracynow.org

It seems it's all about the football. implosion-team-identity  Seeing the strange reaction of the students of Penn Sate is being described as nothing short of a phenomenon. To see people allowing their identity to be defied solely through their title as students at a particular university is disturbing. They have rioted in downtown streets over the firing of Coach Joe Paterno and assistant coach Jerry Sandusky. Attached a newsman and pushed over a media truck. They claimed Paterno must be innocent because "He has done so much for our school" one students said live on national television. Psychologists are claiming this is because they are 18 and 19 year old kids who's social lives are wrapped up in Penn State Football.

But haven't we seen this before? In fact don't we not see this everyday? The guy blowing up his Facebook status about how his team lost, but it wasn't fair. The group screaming at the television at a bar while the game begins to take a bad turn. All the students high fiving in the stands after a win. Those people have nothing to do with the outcome of a game. Seeing grown men and women become more emotional about "their team" loss or win is more common than seeing people become emotionally invested over the loss of innocence for thousands of children.

Growing up in a home where one of my parents never went to college and one who did not finish, I never engaged in the typical Saturday go team go hurrah's! My father's motto in cheering for a team " I always go for the underdog." When applying for college it never accured to me to look at the team's stats only to see if I enjoyed the campus. I say all of this to allow us to reevaluate where our focus is of what is real and what is innocent. Who are the victims here the students, faculty, or the young underage boys who were being raped over a 15 year period? "We are Penn State" a phrase that could be left in the stands. "We are the Human Race" a phrase that can be used to protect those who cannot speak for themselves everyday. If you'd like to learn more or donate to the prevention of child abuse please www.preventchildabuse.org

Less is Best...Well For Me

"It's not you, it's me. I just need space but don't worry not Myspace just old fashioned space" was what I told him at 4:30 this afternoon. We've been together since 2006 and for the past several months Facebook has been a way for new people I meet in Hawaii to learn more about me and contact me easily. Many months prior I had been feeling I use it out of boredom. Though I "Like" plenty of pictures and comment back and forth to people Facey and I have been growing apart. It started a couple of years ago when I realized I had too many friends. I had gotten up to around 500 and thought how many times I see or talk with those people in person each year. Also having children you don't want everyone and their brother to see what you did that weekend.

I went from over 500 to 300. Then to 200 then to less than 150. I started adding more people recently obviously because of new people I had met. But I still check it out of boredom not out of genuine interest. And just because I like talking to people doesn't mean I have to via Facebook. I also had one friend give it a try a couple of months ago and has really enjoyed it. She is a fellow blogger too so I believe this helps her connect with those who she chooses to open up with about her family without involving Joe Shmoe Random, that she was friends with ten years ago and still on Facebook. My sister has been off Facebook for a while and I never thought I'd do the same but she's grown more as a person in the past year than in her whole life and did it all without a Facebook account.

I have also been cleaning out the house again. Our house is a 3 bedroom at 730 square feet so if six toys get left on the floor than you can bet the floor is almost completely covered. No, I'm not pregnant, I'm just flustered at picking up the same stuff everyday...also how toys does a child REALLY need. I mean my goodness. My sister thinks I deprive the kids because they have more books than anything else and I make the kids get rid of an old toy when they get a new one but she also doesn't have to clean it all up each day. The motto less is more comes to mind. Sorry Facey but today less is truly more!

Out with the Old

I have a confession to make. I have been seriously slacking in my brush cleaning. Part of my diffence is that I have gone many weeks with wearing little to no make up. Another defense is that I have been busy but over all I am a slacker. It is recommended to clean your make up brushes as often as once a week. And for brushes and sponges you use daily for concealer and or foundation to clean as often as everyday. For mine they have been collecting bacteria for a couple of WEEKS. There I said it.... And I wonder where a random brake out has come from. : )

To give them a thorough cleaning you can find a recipe online or use the following:

1. A bowl of warm water
2.  3-5 drops of Tea Tree essential oil I use aura cacia essential oils
3. a mild unscented liquid soap (preferably as natural as possible) I use Dr. Bronner unscented refill
4. Your brushes/sponges

And yes you can clean your hair brushes too. Here is a chart that shows some key points of the 8 major benefits to using Tea Tree Oil in your daily routine. Sorry for the weird display. Teatreeoiluses.com

 

For my Mainland people: You can pick up Aura Cacia at Whole Foods and Kroger in the organics section.

And for my Hawaiian people: You can pick Aura Cacia at Celestrial Market and Whole Foods.

The Happy Linly's!

With Little a month away from being 2 and Big Girl turning 4 in March we are really seeing how unique and special these little girls are. As they're personalities grow I grow more and more intrigued by who these two best friends/sisters are becoming.

Girls Night aka Prom 2011

Left to right: Corinne, Myself, Brooke, Marissa

So glad to have gone out for a much needed and fun evening with the ladies. Though we were not expecting it Lei Lei's even had some music for us, thanks guys! We also continued Richard and I's tradition of eating dessert and drinks first before the meal. It was delicious, I hope we continue it. April, Taylor and Mele weren't able to come but they will be next week. To top it off the guys will be joining us...should be entertaining! Can't wait for next week, North Shore Ladies you rock!

6 for 6 but 30 for 3

This year Our Boy wanted to continue his villain streak as Captain Rex from Star Wars. Big Girl and Little went the more natural route and Ava was a honey bee and Quin was a flamingo. Every year for the past 3 years we have told The Boy that he gets as many pieces of candy as his age number. So when he was five he got five pieces of candy and this year he is six so he got to eat six. Being an oldest child he has never questioned this system, he enjoys certain structural limitations and pleasantly eats the exact number we offer him. This year was Big Girl's third Halloween which means she got three pieces.... just three is what we told her. This did not fly with her and her immediate reaction was " Whhaaaat! Why?" Over the past 48 hours she has eaten well over 20 pieces so I let them pick out one last piece when our son came home from school and then I threw the rest away. That is until she found some M&M's this morning. I think that was the last of the stash.  We had a very busy week starting off with Grandma Lee coming in to visit. We loved spending time with her and the kids loved showing her everything their little minds could think of.

 

 Next on the list was the Halloween parade at school Friday morning. My favorite was the Banana Big Girl saw one of her classmates at the school as well. We love her she's such a doll. Then off to the Fall Festival. We got to see our friends and neighbors the Simpson Family. I loved it Jason dress up as a thug and Noel dressed up as their daughter, ahhh! How funny!!!! JJ their oldest, also dressed up as a storm trooper. Then we realized that all three boys were all in the same line, dressed in the same costume. Kelly and the kids came but Kel's daughter had the raddest costume as a troll! Kel had to try on the flamingo hat. ; ) The food was delicious, chili over rice and cornbread. Yum!

 Then off to official busniess the Trick or Treating. These kids were all business. We met up with Kel and the kids again as well as Mele and Snow White . Red Riding Hood loves trying on everyone's costumes. Ideas for next year, I'm sure. Haha, love her! The night ended well and yes we were slightly late to school. ; )