Easy recipe!

CO really likes pasta. I found this recipe while living in Australia and actually made it in New Zealand a few times too while on vacation. It's very simple and doesn't use anything too hard to find.

Buttered Linguine with Romano, Tomatoes, and Basil - from Confessions of a Foodie Bride

1/2 lb Linguine
2 Tbsp butter, melted
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped
2 Tbsp basil, chopped/chiffonade
3/4 cup Pecorino Romano, finely grated (sometimes when in a bind I use Parmesan)
Salt, to taste

Cook pasta 6-8 minutes, or until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water before draining.

Toss hot pasta in a large bowl with butter, pepper, tomatoes, basil, and cheese. Add 1/4 cup pasta water and toss to moisten. Add additional water if necessary. Salt to taste and serve immediately.

Yields: 3 servings (entree)
Source: Heavily revised from Everyday Pasta, 2007

HWotD

Today's Hawaiian word is:

'Ohana - family, relative, clan
(also to gather together for family prayers- isn't that cool!)
"Oh-ha-nah"


I'm sad about this one because this year, my family will be spread out. My sister and her family are going to Guatemala. My parents and younger sister are in Michigan (at least for the time being). My dh and I are going to visit his family in Florida. I'm excited to be with my inlaws (really, they're cool!), but I'm also sad because my parents were supposed to go to Guatemala too, but my mom has been having really bad headaches and they couldn't go. She went to the hospital on Tuesday and they aren't exactly sure what is causing the headaches, but think it could have to do with one nerve. Please keep her in your prayers.

Mele Kalikimaka!

The HWotD/phrase is Mele Kalikimaka :)

Merry Christmas everyone!

"Mel-eh kah-lee-key-mah-kah"

The Grinch carved the roast beast!

Ok, so dh (dear husband) isn't really a grinch. He just likes to keep me on budget, but anyway, quite nearly his favorite meal these days is a good roast beef. I, on the other hand, am not so fond of roasts. Last weekend, we tried one and even he wasn't so fond of my cooking skills. Ironically enough, the "rub" recipe that I gave my dad (after doing a google search) was raved about for weeks.

Today I was brave enough to again attempt a roast. I used the recipe for the rub that I gave my dad, and it was fabulous! Both dh and I loved it!

Prime Rib Herb Paste

from Ziggy at about.com

This is a great rub to put on prime rib. (We used eye of round.)The combination of flavors with the olive oil make a good slow roasted rib roast perfect. Whether you are roasting, grilling or smoking this is a great rub.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
  
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil (We used all dried spices that we had on hand)
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary (We didn't have rosemary at all)
  
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1-1/2 tablespoons Lawry's Seasoned Salt
• 1 tablespoon fresh ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt blend (It wouldn't be one of our meals without it!)
  

PREPARATION:

Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth and even. Spread evenly over the surface of the (prime rib) roast.




Also, note to self. While waiting for roast to cook, don't overindulge in Sour Patch Kids and then think nothing of eating a tomato chunk. Your tongue will hate you. End note.

HWotD

Today's word of the day is:

ahiahi - evening, late afternoon
"ah-hee-ah-hee"

aloha ahiahi - good evening

Pay it Forward

I have decided to join the Pay It Forward pledge and give handmade love to others. I found this on one of my new fave blogs, Make and Takes, and I am in turn passing it on, or Paying It Forward. I think it will be a great way to get to know more of you and encourage you to Pay it Forward as well.

Here is the pledge and how it works:

“I will send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I don’t know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week, but you will receive it within 365 days, which is my promise! The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.”

And if you don’t have a blog, make the commitment anyway by making something and simply giving it away. I don’t know what my handmade gifts will be, I think it will depend on who it goes too. And chances are, I will get to it a lot sooner than 365 days. This is exciting. And who can guess what it'll be? Here’s to Paying It Forward.

"Military Spouses earn $900,000"

That stinking email throws me off every time. It sounds so awfully good. Better than the $10/hour part time jobs that I usually can find. The email gets me started thinking about jobs that would earn money, be helpful to others, be fulfilling... But then I read on, and it says "Did you know that a bachelor's degree will earn you $900,000* more over the course of your career?"

Um. Yes, a bachelor's degree probably will help you earn more money. And about that $900,000 - did you see the Barry Bonds asterisk in there? Once you follow that down to the bottom of the page, it's over a person's career, assuming they start working at birth and die, working, at age 107. Perhaps I exaggerated slightly, but it's still bad.

My theory is that now that I have a masters degree, my earning potential is actually inverted, due to my obviously "overqualified" self. So, not only can I not get jobs, I also have to pay off my student loans too.

Thanks, military.com for getting my hopes up.

What's your name?

So, I've been working at the preschool for almost 4 months now. I know most of the kids' names, and I hope they know mine. The other day, I was talking to a 2-year-old and asked him what my name was. He gave me a blank look. I said, "Miss Julie?" He shook his head no, and said confidently, "Dora." Goodness, that's ranking me pretty high in kid-speak. I'll take it.

Word of the day:

'Auinala - afternoon (literally declining sun)
"Ow-whee-nah-lah"

Aloha 'auinala - good afternoon

The Christmas Card Debate

DH and I send out Christmas cards. DH approves of the card I create and I send them out. That works well. Then comes the issue of whether or not to send out a letter with them.

Pros of sending out letter:
- Explaining why in the world we're in a landlocked state in the South even when DH is active duty CG
- Recapping highlights of the past year of our lives for those we don't talk to often
- They're fun to write (and hopefully fun to read too)

Cons of sending out letter:
- Other than moving and explaining that, we don't have that much going on...
- They cost money to print
- Risk of sounding braggy at what we've done this year
- "We" already have a blog

What would you do? What do you do? Any advice, people?

HWotD

Today's word is kakahiaka

kakahiaka - morning
"kah-kah-hee-ah-kah"

aloha kakahiaka - good morning
kakahiaka nui - early morning

Prayer Request

We got a few emails about this... and my heart is breaking. XO sent us this email regarding our pastor of our church in Hilo and his wife. This is the church that one of dh's crew members attended too, and they all helped immensely when he passed away in March. He died in an accident by a waterfall as well, so this is particularly hard.

We just wanted to ask you for prayer for Mark and Sarah Rife. (Mark is the lead pastor of Elevate, our church in Hilo). They were hiking Sunday at Onomea falls outside of Hilo. They were taking pics at the top of the falls (Mark was taking pics of Sarah) when she slipped and went over the falls. It's a drop of over 60 feet and she went tumbling down mainly over rocks. Mark was about 50 ft away from her on the other side. He called 911 as he ran over to help her and then put his phone and stuff down on a rock and dove in after her. Miraculously, it wasn't fatal. But Sarah and Mark both were air lifted to Hilo Emergency. Because of the extent of her injuries, Sarah had to be air lifted with Mark by her side to Queens Hospital on Oahu.

Right now Sarah is filled with strength, courage and even humor, cracking jokes, but her condition is still pretty serious. Mark thought he may have broken some ribs but miraculously he has just bruises and is physically fine. Sarah's skull was open in the back. They found a blood clot (hematoma) and because of that chose to medevac her to Oahu. Once on Oahu, they found out she also has a fracture in her forehead and another fracture from the front fracture, over her skull, to the back of her skull. There was internal bleeding in the front between her skull and her brain but that seems to be contained and stopped. (They're still keeping a close eye on it.) But the new concern is of the fracture at the base of her head. It is near a vital artery that leads into her brain. Because of the fall, the doctors are concerned about possible blood clots that could cause a stroke. They can't give her medicine to thin out the blood clots because of the bleeding in the front of her forehead. For now, all they can do is wait out the night and then tomorrow, they will take another catscan to see how that back area is doing. Mark is asking for prayer- for healing, for strength, for His presence, for His peace, for His glory.

Update from a few days ago:
Just got a call from Mark. There's new serious concerns on the horizon right now. Sarah recently began feeling/hearing a "swooshing" sound in her head, and doctors are concerned that an artery may be too close to a vein (or something like that). Anyway, I guess somehow this could lead to further clotting (i.e. stroke), so they are trying to do some procedures to take an internal look to see how serious it is. Also, her blood levels recently began to drop again.

Your prayers/intercession is sooo valuable right now! Thank you for standing with Sarah and Mark!

Psalm 18:6 - "In my distress I called to the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears."

Psalm 18 is a wonderful prayer guide. I am especially moved by God's anger (vs.7) towards enemies of His anointed. Let's battle against the powers of darkness, while also pleading the Lord's unfailing kindness towards His anointed (Sarah).

We remember...

USS Arizona










USS Utah

HWotD - hālau

Today's word is something very dear to my heart - hālau

Hālau - originally meaning "long house", now used to describe a school, academy, or group, often referring to an official hula school.
"Haa-lau" (second syllable sounds like loud without the 'd')

`A`ohe i pau ka `ike i ka halau ho`okahis. - All knowledge is not contained only one school. While I know this familiar saying is true, I definitely know which hālau I love - Hālau Na Pua O Uluhaimalama in Hilo! The kumu (teacher) is wonderful - I love you Kumu Em! And the ladies there can't be beat! Aloha Debbie, Diane, Shirley and whoever else reads this :) Mahalo and aloha!

HWotD and Google Reader plug

Ok, first of all, Google Reader is amazing. My sister got me hooked on it. So what you do, is put in the addresses of the blogs you read, and it tells you when they're updated. No more blog stalking! It's pretty cool! I love it! First gmail, now reader. I'm in love with google, I think.On to the word of the day.

Today's word - keiki.
Keiki - child, son, daughter, descendant, offspring
"Kay-key"

I'm not that hungry, perhaps I'll eat a keiki serving of ice cream. (Ha, like I'd ever say that!)

Gross, maybe TMI

So, gross as it is and embarrassed as I am, I have a plantar wart on my right heel. I blame the studio where we dance hula, because it is gross and disgusting. Anyway, I've been reading up on how to treat them and am not pleased with the possible options.

Option one:
Since I am afraid of doctors, do nothing. Let nature take its course and let it go away on its own. One article I read (of course online, where all true knowledge is) said it could take 2 years to go away. Uh, no thank you.

Option two:
Go to the doctor. Have him burn/freeze it off my foot. The articles caution against this for children, as this is rather painful. As this is rather painful. Hmm... I don't think I would like to voluntarily submit to rather painful things.

Option three:
Laser therapy, surgery. Surgery. Surgery? For a thing smaller than a dime on my foot. No way, José (although my doctor's name is Ernesto, thank you).

Option four:
What webmd.com refers to as folk remedies. That conjures up ideas in my overactive imagination such as going to my local witch doctor or drinking some potion with cat's paw or ground bird bones... anyway, I digress. One describes putting duct tape on your wart. This will eliminate moisture (which feeds the wart) and irritates the skin (supposedly motivating it to remove the wart).

Yup, I chose the duct tape. Good news is that instead of years to heal, it could take a mere 6-8 months... gosh, that's promising.

Anyone have advice?

HWotD

Today's words are:

kāne - man, husband, male
"kah-nay"

wahine - woman, lady, wife
"waa-hee-nay"

This is particularly useful when posted on bathroom doors.

Am I that out of it?

Overheard in the free-weight section of the student recreation center yesterday...

"His abs are like graham crackers"

Um. I have NO clue what that means. Only perhaps that mine are still at animal cracker stage? The kind with frosting and sprinkles.

Oh... and this is hilarious.