It's DH's birthday!

He officially turns old.

Hau'oli la hanau, ku'uipo!

HWotD:
hau'oli la hanau - happy birthday
"how-oh-lee lah haa-now"

I Jump, You Jump, Jack

~Title of one of my favorite Gilmore Girls episodes (Season 5, episode 7). Originally a quote from Titanic.

Seriously, great show, folks. Plus, I'm a fan of Logan. I know, I know, it's controversial. I just like him for Rory. Do you feel the same way?

We're heading out of town tomorrow for the wedding. I'm a blonde again and I have a cute dress. I've done all I can to arm myself.

We'll be in California. Unfortunately, we won't be heading to San Francisco :(. Last time we were there, I got my dh's version of a tour. No Lombard street. No Alcatraz. I got the surfer/Coastie's version. We saw all the key surf spots and the main Coast Guard stations there. Some of them were pretty cool, I do admit, and I even saw the Golden Gate bridge from one of the better surf spots before my attention was redirected to the incoming set.

Congrats to SL8R for winning Bells today/tomorrow. DH and I would have loved to be there, and we watched online. (We were there a few months ago though - and I'm guessing we'll visit again soon!)

HWotD:
i'a - fish
"eee-ah"

Movie Tuesday

Here are some movies I've seen recently, Reneé-style.
Reviews taken from netflix.com.

These are all foreign films, so you must be ready for subtitles! I liked most of them.


The World's Fastest Indian
Based on a true story, this drama follows 67-year-old grandfather and New Zealander Burt Munro (Anthony Hopkins) as he flies across Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats and blazes into the record books at 183.586 mph on his customized Indian Scout motorcycle.

Recommended. I thought it was inspirational.



Ten Canoes
Hoping to teach younger brother Dayindi (Jamie Gulpilil) a lesson about fidelity, Aboriginal elder Minygululu (Peter Minygululu) weaves a lengthy ancestral fable about warrior Ridjimiraril's sibling battle for his bride's affection. The tale has deep meaning, but the brothers' expedition is the greater reward for both.

Not recommended, unless you're way into anthropology. And even then, maybe not. Interesting, but I still can't figure it out.



Born into Brothels
This Oscar-winning documentary is a portrait of several unforgettable children who live in Calcutta's red-light district, where their mothers work as prostitutes. Spurred by the kids' fascination with her camera, Zana Briski, a photographer documenting life in the brothels, decides to teach them photography. As they begin to look at and record their world through new eyes, the kids awaken to their own talents and sense of worth.

Wholeheartedly recommended.


Children of Heaven
A delightful Iranian movie about a boy who accidentally loses his sister's shoes and must share his own sneakers with her in a sort of relay while each attends school at different times during the day. Finally, the boy enters a much-publicized foot race, hoping to place third. The prize: a new pair of sneakers.

Wholeheartedly recommended for all audiences (who can read). Even my mother, who only liked Driving Miss Daisy.


After the Wedding
To save the failing orphanage he runs in India, Danish transplant Jacob Petersen (Mads Mikkelsen) returns to his homeland to meet a self-indulgent businessman named Jørgen who's offered a generous donation -- and who represents everything the noble-minded Jacob abhors. Complicating matters further are the unusual strings Jørgen has attached to his so-called gift. Rolf Lassgård co-stars in this Oscar-nominated emotional powerhouse of a drama.

Recommended.


Water
After losing her husband to illness, 8-year-old Chuyia (Sarala) is forced to live out the rest of her days in a temple for Hindu widows, communing with 14 other women and a cruel headmistress who agrees to take her in. But it's through the trials of another widow, a beautiful prostitute named Kalyani (Lisa Ray) who's being courted by a man from a higher caste (John Abraham), that Chuyia learns the true restrictions of widowhood in this Oscar nominee.

A beautiful movie. Made me want to move to India and work with widows, especially the child widows.

From the mouths of babes...

I have a lot of fun at school asking the kids questions just to see what responses I'll get.

Most days, they're simple questions.
Question one - What do you want to be when you grow up?

x- a construction worker
j - a professional football, baseball, and basketball player (yes, all three)
a - a princess

But Rachel turned the question to me. She asked, "Miss Julie, what are you going to be when you grow up?"

I replied, "A teacher." (gee, one of my students doesn't think I'm grown up.)

She said, "no you're not. You're going to be a doctor."

Where was she 10 years ago when I was trying to figure out a major?

Question two:
Another teacher asked our kids who God is. They immediately pointed to the ceiling. Everyone knows God is up there. She then asked who Jesus is.

N said, "Jesus is like a little fairy. He has a little hat on him."

W said, "And Jesus is watching if you take a good nap." (coming from someone who has a bad history of taking naps)

Z said she has a picture of Jesus at her house and said, "Jesus has a long beard and a pointy hat."

Apparently Jesus is a lot like Santa Claus and an elf?? We have our work cut out for us.


HWotD:
mai'a - banana
"my-ee-ah"

RIP Jade and Spike. Another Random Monday.

Poor Jade.

Spike isn't looking well either.

I don't know exactly what killing plants means according to the movie 28 Days (the one with Sandra Bullock, not the scary ones...). I think it could mean that I'm not qualified to move to small pets yet. And small pets are several steps before children.


Mele Kalikimaka from my hula teacher here - he went to Hawaii and brought us back li hing mango, crackseed, coffee, and nori - all in a Longs bag. MMMMmmmm!


HWotD
niu - coconut
"nee-eew"

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter!

I'm thankful for Jesus dying on the cross for my sins and his resurrection!

And happy spring!

the trees here are in bloom!

Lenten rose

Snow? Nope!
Bradford pear trees!

They have pretty white flowers that unfortunately smell like rotting fish!

Tons of pear trees around my school!

HWotD:
kau kupulau - literally "time of leaf sprouting" but means the season of spring!
"cow coo-pooh-lau"

Wedding presents??

So, the wedding is next weekend. And, being the semper paratus couple we are, we're thinking just now about the wedding present. What do we give them?

Option 1 - Money
Boring, impersonal, but incredibly helpful. The couple is planning to move cross-country this summer, and are saving up for that move.

Option 2 - Registry
It's there for a reason, folks. Course there's not much on there because they've each had their own houses for a while. Plus, who really needs an $80 pitcher?

Option 3 - Creative
I'd love to get them something from Etsy or take my own pictures and make a "LOVE" collage (really, just a picture of each letter in a different space in a multi-picture frame - ala this) or a collage with their new last name (assuming she'll take his). But this is kind of risky, and could be difficult to pull off in 5 days.

What would you give??? What was your favorite wedding present?

It's been a while...

... since I've had my Hawaiian Word of the Day.

I like it because it reminds me to keep practicing my 'olelo hawai'i. And so, I shall bring it back. I am also taking another class, so that helps me discover new words.

HWotD:
hānai - literally, to raise, rear, feed, nourish, sustain; provider, caretaker
also means foster child, adopted child; foster, adopted

"haah-nye"

I am the keiki hānai of the Halau Na Pua O Uluhaimalama family. Hanai is a Hawaiian tradition where a child is raised by an "adoptive" or, more literally, a "feeding" family. It's pretty cool, if you ask me.

Read more stories of hanai here.

Who??

Dh came home from school the other day and told me the name of one of his professors. I gasped in awe, and asked, "for real?" in my best valley girl impression. And sure enough, his professor's name is Edmund Fitzgerald. For those of you (aka my sisters) who haven't spent the last few years of their lives obsessing over maritime history (and really, maritime museums are a good idea for family vacation activites), Edmund Fitzgerald was the name of the ship that was lost in one of the most famous Great Lakes shipwrecks.

I've been intrigued by this for the past few days and have looked up more details about the wreck from some of the the most reliable sources known to man, including my favorite, wikipedia. And this paragraph reminded me of so much: "A documentary created and aired by the Discovery Channel investigated a large "fold" found in the hull plating... Through the use of wave tanks and computer simulation, the Discovery Channel team concluded the loss of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald was due to a Rogue wave." Oh yes! I remember now! Also on our family vacation, I made/encouraged my sisters watch the aforementioned Discovery Channel program. Hence my new-found fear of rogue waves.

Also on the wikipedia entry, it says that "Coast Guard Cutter Woodrush [the cutter who was sent to the scene] was replaced by a brand new buoy tender in 2001, USCGC Maple. On her maiden voyage, the Maple visited the final resting place of the Edmund Fitzgerald and dropped the last Woodrush life ring down to the wreck."

I love stuff like this! Perhaps I'll see if Netflix has any documentaries about it and I can add it to my queue.

You know your husband is a cutterman when...

He can back a ship in to its moorings faster than he can back a car into its parking space.

Dear God, thank you for...

Our preschool is a Christian preschool. Pretty much this means we read Bible stories and pray before meals and snacks. The prayer is my favorite part. Each class has helpers (line leader, door holder, and then the prayer helper). The prayer helper can choose to sing a song (to the tune of Frére Jacques)

God our Father, God our Father
Once again, once again
We bow our heads to thank you
We bow our heads to thank you
A-men, a-men

... or the children can say their own prayer. That's where it gets good. We get a lot of what I call "look around" prayers. They go something like this. "Dear God, thank you for our friends, our teachers, our moms and dads, our brothers and sisters. Thank you for our snacks, for our juice, for our napkins, for our cups, for our chairs, for the ceiling..." It's cute how they are truly thankful for everything that they see. We do sometimes have to cut them off and help them say, "in Jesus' name, Amen."

I babysat for one of my students and her sister last weekend. Before I put the girls to bed, I prayed with them. I usually pray that the girls will sleep well and thank God (usually) for the good time we've had together. I let Rosie, my 3-year-old student, go first. I was kind of surprised when she prayed, "Thank you God for my mom and dad, and our house, and for Hollywood..."

Who wants a quilt?

Well, over at Old Red Barn Co, they're giving away a quilt!!! It's easy enough - you just have to comment on her post, and you're entered in the drawing! Woohoo! Doesn't it look lovely? Someday I'll make a quilt that pretty.

Military 101

I should have known we were going to move again within the next few months. The sign? I just ordered return address labels.

Wedding Dress?

Photo by Andi Gilbert of AndiGilbertPhotography

What in the world should I do with my wedding dress? What did you do?

Options:
1. Keep it - Oh yes, every female dreams of giving their dress to their daughter - but being a military spouse who moves every 1-3 years... it doesn't seem practical.

2. Donate it - Let someone else get enjoyment from my beautiful dress.

3. Trash it - the pictures are so much fun! But do I really need more pictures of myself?? There's no way I'll be able to convince DH to climb back into his whites... But you really should check out some trash the dress pictures. See Amy's examples... but then again, I'd really have wanted to do it in Hawaii rather than where I am now.

4. Sell it - we definitely could use the money, but it seems so anti-climatic.

5. Let it sit at my parents' house for a few more years - the perfect solution for the indecisive me! They love me enough to keep it for me, right?? ;)

Vote today!

I'm a Yankee...

and I know it.

Well, I'm a midwesterner first, and overall, I guess that makes me a Yankee. I'm not Southern, and I don't think the word "belle" could ever be used to describe me. And I'm cool with that. My dh is a Navy brat, and his parents are both military brats, but somehow the South still comes out in them.

For example:
Dh's mom wants her grandkids to call her Mamaw. That means my children will grow up saying "Mamaw." I hadn't ever heard of that before. I guess those of you Hannah Montana fans (the general majority of my readers - j/k) know that she had a grandmother visit from the South and Hannah called her Mamaw.

Personally, I think it sounds weird for me to say it in my Midwestern accent. It just doesn't flow naturally out of my mouth.

But somehow, after spending a week in the Smokies, it sounds better to me. Maybe I just had the time to mull it over, and realized it wasn't that big of a deal. Maybe it was having the chance to talk it out with my sister and friend. Maybe I realized after talking to a clerk who put on a t-shirt "should of went" that Mamaw isn't that bad. Maybe I saw my mom with her granddaughters (not my children) and realized whatever they call their grandmother, nana, mamaw, vovo... the love will still be there. Who knows... but whatever it was, I am ok with it.

Crazy cake

I've been making Martha's Crazy Cake for decades. I mean, literally, since I was in elementary school. I even got a blue ribbon for making this for a fair at my school. It's good stuff.

Unfortunately, I have no idea what the name of the book was that we got it from. I can tell you that the book was yellow, paperback, and not very thick (50 pages or less). If you can find it, please let me know and I will cite it properly. Apparently someone else got their baking inspiration from that cake too - you can find Jackie here.

So the story goes that "crazy cakes" were popular during the depression (or was it the war?) because they don't use eggs or butter in the batter (gasp! Don't worry. They make up for it in sugar.)

Here's the recipe.

Martha's Crazy Cake
1 1/2 c. flour
1 c. sugar
2 - 2 1/2 Tbsp. cocoa
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
5 Tbsp salad oil (I use vegetable)
2 tsp vinegar
1 tsp vanilla
1 c. cold water

Turn the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Put flour, sugar, cocoa, salt, and baking soda in the pan (I use an 8" by 8" square pan, but as long as the size is similar go for it). Stir with fork until well mixed. Use the fork to make 3 holes, or wells, in the flour mixture. Pour the oil into one hole. Pour the vinegar into the second hole (actually I save this for third because it fizzes!). Pour the vanilla into the third hole. Pour the water on top. Mix together with the fork, mix well. Bake for 20-25 minutes.*

* The time of baking is kind of tricky. I almost always end up with a soggy cake center. My new "test" is to jiggle the cake, and if the center doesn't wiggle back, it's done.

I made this today with the 5-year old girl I have started to babysit. She liked making it, and dh and I enjoyed eating it! Yay for kid-friendly recipes! (well, minus the sugar. She left by the time it kicked in ;) lol).

I'm baaaaack!

We're back.

We really enjoyed our condo, rented through the Armed Forces Vacation Club. It was clean and nice, and good sized for the 8 people we had there. It was a really good deal for a week, and they have rentals all over the US and the world (CONUS and OCONUS for all of you military people - lol). We think it might be helpful for our next PCS, as a condo could have a kitchen and space... Everyone that we talked to through the AFVC was really helpful. I'd recommend them!

On the down-side, we really hadn't done our homework as to which condo to choose from the AFVC's site. We chose one that was in the middle of Sevierville, a town my sister described as "redneck ghetto-licious". It wasn't THAT bad... but let's just say that the view out of our window was Wal-Mart.

We had a great time with my sisters and my nieces, and later in the week, my parents. All of them drove down from the great north. More updates and thoughts to come later :)

This is for you, sisters. Maybe they'll come out with it on Guitar Hero sometime soon. We could only hope.

Day 5

Seestors.

Dh and I (he hates it when I make him do cheesy poses like this)

Water. Lots of water.

View from (near the top) of the Chimney Tops trail.
Yeah, I'm a little afraid of heights.

Ferns. Cold, snow-covered ferns.

This is how I thought I would have to come down the mountain.

More rivers

Katie went to the top (shown here)

DH was able to coax me to about here (note: not the top).

We went to the Black Bear Jamboree (a cheesy dinner show).
Calli loved it and could not divert her attention, even to eat her dinner.
I still have the songs stuck in my head. It was cheesy, but very entertaining.

Day 4

DH and I decided to give my sisters a bit of a break and send them to the resort's "Pamper Me" day (which turned out to be people trying to get them to sell Arbonne... but whatever). Dh and I took the nieces to "craft time". I think one of them was pretty excited about it.

See, she's painting the bird house!


Unfortunately, this one got more paint on her face than on her bird house.


Awww, sisters...


Later, we all went out for ice cream (a typical outing for our family). This is the "Princess Smile."


Niece + sister


Dh and I as Ben and Jerry


Niece #2 and younger sister


Both nieces. Be thankful we didn't explore all possible permutations.



Who would have thought the VeggieTales version of "You Are My Sunshine" could ever be so endearing?

(Oh, and excuse us, dh and I put the girls in their seats. I didn't notice until later one of the girls' shoulder straps is off! Sorry!! We're not trying to pull a Britney Spears on you! I guess we have a bit to learn before we have kids of our own!)

Day 3

Hiking the Cucumber Gap Trail Loop

Tia Kt and Mari

Hiking next to the Little River

Ten minutes later, Mari's asleep!

Happy hikers

Jenny and Calli

Showing Mari moss on a tree

Cool picture of Mari and me

Nice people who helped us across the stream (pictured below)
They waited for us there, just so they could help us - nice people!

The stream

Tia Kt swinging from a vine...

All done hiking.

View from our condo (in the non-walmart direction)

Sunset in the walmart direction. (Good cropping on my part.)

Day 2

Falling deaths are bad.

My sister and one of her adorable daughters

The family at Laurel Falls

Me and my sweetie

DH carrying one of our nieces

We did it! We made it back without any falling deaths!