Daily Grind
Back to the daily grind. Jeff took today off but i had to work. I told him to make some Mac n’ cheese for dinner and he delivered! Special ingredient – SPAM!
Daisy in the Garden
A stunning daisy from my mother’s garden.
Shave Ice Time
The highlight for today was going to Matsumoto’s in Haliewa to get some Hawaiian Shave Ice.
The line was pretty long but it was worth it! Dad enjoys his strawberry shave ice with ice cream (he always gets the same thing!).
Lighthouse Hike
Jill let us know of a nice hike near Makapu’u which is at the south-east tip of Oahu. It is called the Lighthouse hike but you can’t really get to the actual lighthouse, you can only see it.
Jill and my Dad at the top – the view from the top is amazing! The hike was all uphill going and downhill coming back which was tortureous on my quads because i had run the morning before and my legs were not used to running on concrete sidewalk.
After the hike, we met up with Susan and Mom to to go Lanikai beach. They brought us manapua and pork hash (for me) and Arby’s and fries (for Jeff). While on a walk on the shore, we stumbled upon some lovely sand turtles. Most of the gang took a nap. I took photos.
For dinner we stopped by Angelo Pietros – one of my favorite Japanese-Italian restaurants. This is also the place we like to buy salad dressings from. Love love love! I need to figure out how to make their shoyu sauce for pasta.
Waimea Falls
Today we went to Waimea Falls. When i was growing up this place used to be more of a commercialized park with a waterfall show and professional performers diving into the water from the top of the rocks. Recently it has been turned over to the Hawaiian people so it is more of a place to hike, enjoy the scenery and chill out.
There was a beautiful hibiscus garden there with different kinds of a variety hibiscus flowers, and they still had the Hawaiian games exhibit i remember from field trips as a kid.
A bamboo forest at the beginning of the hike. Jeff in front of a (falling apart) hut.
Waimea Falls.
New Years Celebration
New Years Day in Hawaii with the Segawas = Lots of FOOOOOD. Oh, and some strange mochi stack with oranges on top for good luck! I don’t even know the name of this tradition, but all i know is that you need to have one stack per person in your family. How special, if you count, there is 7 – Mom, Dad, Susan, Jill, Me, Jeff and BUTTERS! Pets usually count in the line-up i guess. Usually theirs is a tiny and cute, but this year i guess we’re all the same.
My mom is insane. When we have a party, there is way more food than there is people to eat it. Normal people don’t understand the scope, but this is what i am used to when you say “party” – overdosage including 2 tables of desserts.
My friend Quincy loading up food at the main table. Family friends and my Grandpa at the appetizer table.
Dessert table 1 had cakes, tarts, mochi, and cookies. Dessert table 2 included jellos, kanten, guri guri, and ice cream.
My ALL-TIME favorite – Kakiage! A seafood deep-fried goodness.
Here is the party, in the new living room set up. We watched the Red & White festival on TV from Japan.
Sisters on the wall outside our house.
I couldn’t get over the way Grandpa wore his beanie. Grandma’s showing her tummy full of yummy food.
New Years Eve 2009
The whole fam-bam made it over to Grandma & Grandpa Okuda’s house in Wahiawa, to consume the obligatory Ozoni Noodle Soup! All 3 of us girls haven’t been there together for quite some years. After dinner we played firecrackers… Jeff, Dad, and Susan were the ones most into it though – Jill and I had fears of getting burned. Towards the end of the night we drove back to Mililani and watched more illegal fireworks and finished off the rest of our “safe and sane” immobile firecrackers.
Breakfast Burrito – Hawaiian Style?
So Hawaiian Airlines claims they are one of the few remaining airlines that still offers complimentary in-flight meals. They also have “upgraded” meals for additional $10. The meal on our flight to Hawaii this morning was Breakfast Burrito which apparently consists of mashed potatoes, a sprinkling of eggs and corn, and lots of olives (Jeff’s favorite!). Sounds tasty? It was nasty actually, plus no ketchup!?!?! I ate the whole thing though cuz i was starving. For dessert, a chocolate muffin which totally made up for the crappy meal. And at least i got to drink some Pass-O-Guava juice while watching commercials on Hawaiian tourist attractions. The flight took about 6+ hours because we went around a storm. I watched the movie “Post-Grad” with the chick from Gilmore Girls. It was … what you would expect from a teen movie such as that. Overall a pretty good flight experience. I believe Jeff slept through the entire ride (except the chocolate muffin part).
MMM…MSG!
Forgot to grab a lean pocket from the garage fridge this morning, luckily i raided the office closet and found a yummy Japanese noodle bowl that Heatherly left. Its chock full of MSG goodness and not to mention half your saturated fat and sodium allowance. Oishii, ne!
iPod Docking Station & Remote
Jeff bought me a docking station that comes with a remote so that i can control my iPod at the front of the class while i teach my fitness classes. Tested it out today, and it works great! No more running back and forth. We don’t rest in my class!