Superwoman Scrapper

Hawaii Minibook Day 2

2012-01-24T13:38:00.000-08:00

Lots of days at the beach ... mom, do we go in the water every time? Sure, honey! Mom, it's not cold or grey or dark like at home. Loving our time here in the islands for sure ... fun in the sun!

The famous Duke Kahanamoku statue at Waikiki Beach. Since we are staying right here, might as well hit that beach first. Kaila caught her first of many waves and is now in love with surfing. Mom tried to catch a few and lost stamina ... boy, not the same when you are out of shape and many years older ... I just couldn't paddle hard enough on a couple to actually catch the wave ... shucks! In the end, only caught a couple and ended up with many sore muscles instead. Ha!

Fun title page ... part of our vacation time is spent in our hotel doing homework.

Kainani is researching Japanese American culture versus American Indian culture. Go venn diagram.

Having fun building any kine stuff with da cousins.

Our first morning on the islands, we took a walk on the beach when no one was there. Way cool!

Story of the day today was mostly about island foods and hanging out at the beach!

View from our hotel is pretty cool. Lots of tall buildings in Waikiki ... it's hotel central ... what do we expect?!? But at least we got ocean view, mountain view and Diamond head view!

Some of the foods we are sampling already ... kim chee chige from our favorite late night haunt Sorabol, manupua from Chun Wah Kam, more plate lunch and poke!

Mom, take a picture of this ... the kids know that my favorite thing to take pictures of is food!

Day 2 pau ... we are just beginning our adventures here on da islands!

Hawaii Minibook Day 1

2012-01-16T23:58:00.000-08:00

Before we left on our trip, I stole some time in the scrapbook room to put together a travel mini book. It's mostly a Making Memories travel kit that I saved for my Europe pictures but still haven't gotten around to scrapbooking much of yet ... over a year later. So this time I'm going to try to get the stories told as they happen so I can actually remember them.

It's an 8x8 mini album of papers glued together, tabs punched and mini stickers to tell the dates. In between each date I also added a smaller sheet with a ripped note paper for the story of the day. All bound with rings in case there are other pieces of memorabilia I might want to add along the way. The front and back is acrylic to hold its shape in the suitcase. And I only brought along a one gallon ziploc of embellishments ... a sampling of ribbon, buttons, stickers, letters and twine. Ready, set, scrap!

Day One was the trip from San Diego airport to Honolulu. The girls don't remember the last couple of times they had been on a plane so it was quite an adventure.

Lena called dibs for the window seat. She took the picture of our view from the plane as we landed in Hawaii. She and I sat together during the 5 plus hour ride and entertained ourselves with another feet shot. Haha. She says to me ... mom, this is how you make an airplane. The thumb and pinky are the wings and the hand is the plane. We flying mom! So cute!

Keeping a piece of Hawaiian Airlines in the lunchbox and the swivel stick.

The journaling/story of the day was mostly about the trip itself. Upon arrival, however, they were pretty excited to see their cousins and sample our first dose of local food ... poke variety of all types!

And the shots of us on the plane. 5 hours went by pretty fast with breakfast, snack, a Dolphin Tales movie, a little DS and a little homework. Day One complete!

Take Twelve January - Taking Inventory

2012-01-14T10:54:00.000-08:00

I am pretty excited to have easily accomplished my first digital scrapbook page ... thanks to the Take Twelve challenge. Yay! Winning the inspiration kit and templates resulted in one day with my camera and a double page layout done! The bonus is that most of these pics came straight out of the camera looking like this ... at night indoors no less. I am excited to be playing with the settings on the DSLR again and focusing on my love of photography. Aperture, got it. White balance, got it. Exposure with no flash, got it too.

In January, the theme was taking inventory of our lives and the things in it. I captured 12 different parts of our everyday life here in this layout. Life at home, with the kids, commuting, and vacation! This is our January 2012!

I'm a Winner & I'm Taking Twelve!

2012-01-12T11:52:00.000-08:00

Some of my Facebook friends may have noticed that I am not really doing Project 365 this year. After 2 full years, I think it's time for a fresh approach. I'm going to do Project Life and Take Twelve instead. And what perfect timing . . . since I was recently a winner of the Take Twelve Inspiration Kit at the Capture Your365 blog!

Along the lines of my one little word being ENOUGH, I think I'd rather just take enough pictures to get memories told . . . once a month on the 12th I will take 12 pictures and scrapbook that! There's a whole community of people doing this at the Ella Publishing blog. And the kit will have inspiration ideas, prompts of what to take pictures of and a digital template to scrap the end result. Yay!

I'll most likely take other pics with my iphone throughout each week as well and use the Project Life method for that. Haven't bought a kit or anything . . . just using my scrap stash, an 8 1/2 x 11 inch binder and baseball card sheet protectors for now. There's just so many people jumping on the Project Life bandwagon this year that it's a little overwhelming and it took me a while to decide where to start. So . . . I'm going to remember to just keep to ENOUGH to get a few tidbits of life's daily stories told . . . that's all.

Be back soon to show my Take Twelve and Project Life January progress. Are you partaking in any of these scrapbooking or photo challenges this year?

PS. You know what's so funny too? My lucky number since high school has been 17 and wouldn't you know it, that was my number this time and I won!!!

One Little Word 2012

2012-01-10T14:34:00.000-08:00

This time of year is perfect for making goals and new years resolutions. Usually I pick my One Little Word to focus on rather than making resolutions. The idea came a few years back from Ali Edwards. In 2008 my word was Simplicity. That year I pared down my belongings, my commitments and my life. In 2009 my word was Mindful. Learned to slow down, live more in the moment and eat more purposefully. Last year my word was Less.. Did less, cared less and wanted or needed less to live a more meaningful life. The impact has been pretty evident to me as I now reflect ... my life is right where I want it to be. Far from perfect but oh so perfect for me!

That leads to my word for 2012 ... ENOUGH. As I look at the hats I wear or the roles I play, I see the emphasis on this word being totally appropriate for this year. I AM ENOUGH!

1. Mom: I want to be sure I spend enough quality time with my girls. Not just together but separately one on one. I want them to get enough attention from me and feel special in their own right as I love them each on their own.
2. Wife and Daughter: I want to keep asking myself ... am I showing my love and support enough to my family? Sometimes the ones we love the most are the ones we either take for granted or are the most mean and impatient to.
3. Professional: Am I doing enough to add value to my team? I read a quote not too long ago that it is more meaningful to make your absence felt than to boast about your presence. Love the work I do, just want to be sure it's making a difference.
4. Scrapbooker: Getting the memories recorded is enough. Don't worry too much about the quality of the photo, the supplies being used or the process itself. Too many unfinished projects equals no real stories being told.
5. Individual: I am enough! Care less about what others think of me. Know that my intentions are there to live the life I was given the best I know how. Do not compare, do not want, just be and that is enough.

I'm sure as the year progresses, more layers of this word will come out as I go about making the most of this life we were given. I am grateful for the imperfect and genuine reality of life itself ... it is enough.

Do you choose a word for the year? Or make new years resolutions?

Currents : New Year

2012-01-06T15:53:00.000-08:00

I'm still finishing up a few more posts of holiday events to post online for my December Daily photo book. But since it's almost a week into the new year, I'm ready for a clean start and a pulse check . . .
on to a post of currents . . .

time: 4pm
location: desk
weather: sunny, 75? wouldn't know been indoors all day
listening: traffic and cars outside the office window
eating: just finished a salad, going for 2 a day
drinking: water, going for 2 a day here too
wearing: jeggings, white Justice sequined tank, long black cardigan, black boots (jeggings and black boots seems to be the uniform lately . . . extremely comfy and sorta stylish at the same time)
feeling: pretty good, ready for the weekend
wanting: some time to scrapbook and decide on Project 366 . . . to be or not to be this year?
needing: to declutter, cleaning always brings clarity and I'm a bit lazy about the new year right now
thinking: I'm so lucky . . . quality family time right around the corner in da islands!
enjoying: wish I could say a glass of wine but it's not 5 o'clock yet :)
wondering: can I fit a family's 10 day wardrobe in a suitcase and 2 carry on's?

currents idea from here

Holiday Tradition: Christmas Eve

2012-01-02T07:24:00.000-08:00

Holiday picture with their grandmas. So blessed to have both in their lives watching them grow up.

The girls with Grandma Marvie and Papa Nick.

Big family portrait with both sets of grandparents. Holidays are all about family!

After a nice big Christmas Eve dinner, we decided to go Christmas caroling. We have never done this before and since we have many days of our advent calendar activities to catch up on, the girls voted for this. It was cold ... but we were determined to spread holiday cheer. Our neighbors and their family from Texas were there to join us in the fun.

Ringing the door bell and waiting to see if anyone's home before we started our singing ... Jingle Bells, We Wish You a Merry Christmas and Frosty the Snowman were probably our favorites. A couple of others we tried but didn't know so well ... that proved a bit disastrous.

But when the kids are small ... even Ashley joined in ... most people were tolerant and enjoyed our attempts at caroling.

Once it got too cold to bear any longer, we headed inside to make our reindeer food. Mixing some glitter ensure that our lawn would sparkle in the night so Santa's reindeers would find our house.

Oats are biodegradable right? Grass likes it too right? You know ... just in case the reindeer didn't end up eating all of the food. Hehe.

Lena had the most fun sprinkling the reindeer food on the lawn in the front yard ... she ran around laughing and sprinkling and having the best time.

Kaila tosses the last of her bowl into the night. Welcome Santa and his reindeers, we are ready for you!

But then Nani was grumpy because she couldn't find her shoes and she was tired. This girl is sleepy and when it's time to go to bed, she doesn't enjoy doing anything else. She threw her whole bowl at once into the yard and quickly ran back into the house. Good night Nani!

One last step before the girls got ready for bed ... Kaila wrote a note to Santa and we put out the milk and cookies. Our house definitely believes!

Then the house was quiet and still as we settled down all nestled in our warm beds. To all a good night!

Holiday Tradition: Christmas Morning

2012-01-01T06:15:00.000-08:00

Christmas morning is spent with family in our tradition of matching holiday pajamas. We take our time getting up, having breakfast, opening presents and enjoying each other's company.

Kaila was the first to get up ... waiting patiently watching TV while the others hit the snooze button a little bit more.

Lena is usually the last to get up. She is just like her daddy and really likes to sleep in. But this particular morning, she was a bit anxious and excited so she got up anad at 'em even before baby Ashley.

This was the first year we had stockings filled. It's usually too crazy and stressful for mom to worry about stockings in the past, it just never was a tradition we upheld. But this year, it was a fun addition to our normal routine. Nani enjoyed all of her Hello Kitty goodies. But her favorite was a sticky smash ball fruit that she could throw at a window and it would splat ... she is truly our tomboy of the bunch.

Kaila's favorite was her toe socks. She also found ways to keep busy during her 3 week Christmas vacation this year with a Sudoku book inside her stocking.

Lena had to keep peeking at her stocking before finally taking it down and looking inside ... giddy I guess. She got some fun coloring stuff (her most favorite thing to do) and cute penguin slippers and matching sleep mask.

Ashley is up and ready for the fun ... this might be the first year that she's starting to understand the meaning of Christmas morning.

A sign that the girls are growing up as we had a good mix of clothes, school supplies and toys. Much different than the toddler princess years where it was all about the toys.

Baby got in the act showing off her new outfit, too.

Lena's favorite outfit from grandma ... such a girly girl this one.

By far the most adored gift of the whole morning was this Dora backpack. After opening it, she couldn't wait to put it on. Then she kept saying how she has her own backpack and was so happy. Now she is ready for her adventures with Dora. Haha. LOL

Surveying the goods as they near the end of all the packages. So excited to start trying things on and playing with all their new stuff.

And right away, she starts coloring ... she really could occupy herself for hours just drawing, coloring and scrapbooking ... she is probably the most like me ... such a proud mommy. It was a merry Christmas morning indeed!

Holiday Event: Girl Scout Investiture

2011-12-31T21:03:00.000-08:00

Our first year as Girl Scout co-leaders, we had the pleasure of getting our official pins at the leader holiday party slash Investiture. It was an honor to be called "official" and a fun little challenge to cite the Girl Scout Promise on our own without the girls screaming it out loud to us.

On my honor, I will try:

To serve God and my country,

To help people at all times,

And to live by the Girl Scout Law.

The candles all symbolize a part of the Girl Scout Law:

I will do my best to be
honest and fair,
friendly and helpful,

considerate and caring,

courageous and strong, and

responsible for what I say and do,

and to respect myself and others,

respect authority,

use resources wisely,

make the world a better place, and

be a sister to every Girl Scout.

Getting pinned by a current leader.

We are official!!!

Fellow leaders showing us their support and offering to help as we embark on this journey. Wish I could say I feel brave but really I feel like I owe it to my daughter ... her sisters found troops to join and she could not ... so if we didn't start our own, she would be left out. Here's to the journey all starting with a single step ... our investiture!

Holiday Tradition: First Semester Awards Ceremony

2011-12-30T20:39:00.000-08:00

The holiday season is also the end of the school semester and a time where the kids are getting ready for their winter break. Every year, we have been so lucky as to be invited to the elementary school awards ceremony for the students that earned good grades that semester. The kids don't always get so excited but the parents are so very proud!!!

Lena is getting her honor roll.

Nani gets honor roll too! Older sister is showing her support ...

since it's her first year not in elementary anymore.

These student accomplishments are not completed alone. We are very thankful for the teachers' help and guidance throughout the semester. Nani had Mrs. Bell and Lena had Mrs. Fleming. Lots of hard work and lots of great teaching.

Also truly grateful for all the time Ba Ngoai spends taking care of them. Taking them to school and picking them up. Packing their lunch, giving them after school snack and making sure they sit down to do their homework daily. It takes a village to raise children and we are blessed with all the support we have. We are blessed with good kids!

Holiday Tradition: Neighborhood Party

2011-12-29T14:52:00.000-08:00

We are so lucky to live in such a fun neighborhood with such nice neighbors. Our kids get along, our husbands get along and us wives definitely get along ... sometimes too well (with a few glasses of wine).

Our annual tradition is to have a get together with gift exchange every year for the holidays. This year Alma was our hostess.

The kids always look forward to time with their friends, even though they see plenty of each other all year long ... sometimes 7 days a week (like Nani girl and Ally who had the same class, then girl scouts, then scrapbooking moms nites, then family parties, it's neverending). LOL

Frances' family is so sweet ... they all look like sisters!

And my daughter with her friend who's taller but younger. The luck you have when you come from a tiny family ... no six footers here. Haha.

In past years, they were toddlers excited for Santa's surprise visit. This year, they are dining at the table like grownups. Insert bittersweet tears here.

For some excitement this year, we played a minute to win it game of fishing for candy canes. For some it was harder than it looks, for others not so bad. Telling kids to keep their hands behind their backs was a bit of a challenge. In the end, they were all good sports and a success with this challenge!

The winner was Kaila ... I think that was all the candy cane would hold!

Time for the kids secret santa gifts ... really from us moms. :) Kaila played Santa since she was the one with the hat. For each child, she stated a compliment that they were good that year just like Santa would have. Pretty spot on!

They all really enjoyed their gifts.

And then the roles reversed and Kaiolena put on the Santa hat to give Kaila her gift. This year Kaila was good because she was a great Santa. Haha, how creative! (or not)

Then it was the adults turn! For ours, there was lots of stealing going on and the most favored gifts are always alcohol related. Hmmmm .... what kind of neighborhood is this?!? Haha. A set of wine glasses, some wine, a really cool wine sampler, some hard alcohol and a UFC coffee set. Santa is good!

Wrapping up the night were just more laughs, good eats and good times. After many years together, we continue to hope each year there will be many more still yet to come. Merry Christmas 2011!

Holiday Event: Girl Scout Holiday Party

2011-12-28T15:11:00.000-08:00

Our monthly meeting was a nice holiday party for our Daisies where we started out making cards for the troops. We asked who had family members in the military. We explained that soldiers don't always get to come home for Christmas. The girls were so sweet in their empathy towards the troop members and their families. Their motivation resulted in many cards made!

The art of sharing was also learned by all as we passed out the craft and art supplies.

Even my cadette helper got in the act to make a few for the military men and women.

The cards turned out really sweet and merry indeed.

Thanks so much Daisies for a job well done!

Me and my girls, one Daisy and one Junior!

My co-leader and her daughter also enjoying their cookie and card making time together.

After our hard work, we all enjoyed a special treat ... Christmas cookies.

They took their artistic talents so seriously, decorating each of their cookies. But really, all that sugar was their ultimate goal ... the more sprinkles the merrier. Sorry moms for the sugar high at the end of the night. Sleep was probably not on their minds when we sent them home.

You can't make cookies and not sample them. The girls enjoyed their frosted wonders! It definitely shows in her smile and the crumbs left over. haha. LOL.
So so cute!!!

Holiday Event: Cookie & Gift Exchange

2011-12-27T18:34:00.000-08:00

Instead of wine night this month, we had a little festive girls night in. First time for everything .... I've heard of cookie exchanges before but since I don't cook or bake, I never thought of hosting one of my own. To my delighted surprise, it was fun and yummy to our tummies!

The girls smiling pretty in some holiday garb. So lucky to have such great neighbors!

Enjoying a candy cane cocktail while waiting for their turn in the gift exchange.

Toasting our own candy cane cocktails ... link for recipe below. Hmmm ... this picture is a different point of view ... taken by my 6 year old baby ... for once I look tall!!! Haha.

Holiday sugar cookies were as delicious as they looked (made by Elena). Decor was a free printable from the link below ... yay! I love free printables!

Bella brought yummy cake pops in mini cupcake form. Can we say heavily embellished? .... the best! You can never have enough bling, especially in the form of cupcake sprinkles.

Okay so I cheated and bought snowman powdered puffs ... really tasty.

These were yummy family recipe holiday bars made by Grace .... ancient Filipino secret, hmmmm!
AND ... if you're not too old to remember the commercial, you are saying this in your mind like it's really ancient Chinese secret hmmmm?

Enjoying good times with girlfriends ... who could ask for anything more?!?

My daughter, caterer in training, put together these lovely hors d'oevres. She loves pinterest and thinks the fun of food is in making it pretty. Yay, I love her!!!! She even made a bruschetta cheese ball.

And a favored gift of the night in the gift exchange was this fun chick flick ... looks like a perfect reason for the next girls night in .... watching Bridesmaids!

candy can cocktail

snowman party printables

Merry Christmas!!!

2011-12-25T00:00:00.000-08:00

Wishing for lots of joy today for you and your loved ones.

Here's what we sent out with our Christmas cards this year:
Sending out lots of aloha this time of year to all of our loved ones. This was a very routine year for the Tacazons. Same ol’same ol’... Moi at Caltrans, Connie at Bank of America, Nani in 4th grade and Lena in 1st grade at Nichols. There was an exciting change for Kaila to middle school and 6th grade at Guajome Park Academy. No school uniforms & 7 teachers instead of 1! All 3 girls are now Girl Scouts and active with community service, keeping busy with schoolwork and just hanging out. Connie took a trip to New York City to celebrate the big 4-0. The family took a trip to Big Bear to enjoy the snow, in addition to a few other road trips to Las Vegas and Arizona to visit friends. Overall, this was the year of less which freed up more time to enjoy life and each other and family and friends. Hope your year was just as blessed. Happy holidays and many great wishes for the new year.

Love,
Moi, Connie, Kaila, Kainani and Kaiolena

Holiday Tradition: Making Goodies for Gifting

2011-12-24T05:00:00.000-08:00

Every year we bake cookies or buy candies for friends and coworkers. This year, the girls and dad decided to make Hawaiian Chex Mix.

Here they are baking ... recipe included below!

Once they were all done and cooled, Lena bagged them while Kaila put on the personalized bag toppers. Such a hardworking family are we ...

... and then at the end, the crumbs were enjoyed by all!

Try making some of your own at home!

Furikake Chex Mix
wet ingredients:
5.3 oz butter (1 1/3 stick)
3 T sugar
½ C light corn syrup
2 t shoyu (soy sauce)
¼ C vegetable oil
dry ingredients:
5 oz honeycomb cereal (1/3 box)
4 oz crispix cereal (1/3 box)
5 oz cheerios cereal (1/3 box)
1 oz furikake (½ bottle)
3 oz butter snap pretzels (1/3 bag), add last
12 oz honey roasted peanuts (1 can), add last

Heat wet ingredients to dissolve sugar. Toss with dry ingredients to coat. Bake at 250º for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Cool. Store in airtight container.

Holiday Tradition: Decorating Our Home (Dining Room)

2011-12-23T05:00:00.000-08:00

One of my most favorite holiday decor items from past years has always been ornament filled glass jars. The simplicity and the elegance of it is so pretty. Plus the velvet table runner with contrast of soft and shiny together ... perfection.

I updated the chandellier by removing the formal beaded and silk covers. This is more clean and simple and modern ... kind of the look I'm going for this year with our home update.

Simple paper flowers and glitter snowflakes.

Our card garland ready to be filled ... complete with a new teal Merry Christmas sign.

... and here it is filled with love from family and friends. So much fun this time of year to see how the kids have grown and what everyone's up to.

Red snowflake pillows from Target (last year) adds cozy comfort.

Other small doses of holiday decor in our home include red ribbon added here and there, red glitter and more poinsettia.

Holiday Tradition: Decorating Our Home (Family Room & Kitchen)

2011-12-22T05:00:00.000-08:00

Our tree never goes next to the fireplace. This year our new couch is an L shape and has taken over the corner where our tree usually goes. But I do have to admit I like these pictures where it's all together most.

New color scheme called for new stockings this year (from Target). Love this teal color and the simplicity of the white felt snowflakes. Lena has put her stocking to good use already with her note to Santa on what she wants for Christmas this year ... a DS game, Kinect Sports or Dance Central and a big screen computer. We'll see I told her ...

Love the teal and green and silver ornaments on our tree this year.

Love how it all looks so nice with my favorite portrait wall of black frames on a blue background. Here lies my favorite quotes ... Proof that God loves us ... and We must be the luckiest people alive. Not bad for spray painted bamboo frames ... a sign of the old beach cottage decor.

At the bar, a holiday snowman sits happily with our stainless steel barware.

And our simple new Ikea shelf with wine glass holders made festive with its own mini Christmas tree. Here I couldn't resist the country look of the birdhouse. :)

And on the same bar is our country snowman family. Too cute to leave in the box!

What completes our home decor the most is a kid-made school-project December calendar with poinsettias on the fridge. Merry December to all! Hope your home is making you happy this time of year.

Holiday Tradition: Decorating Our Home (The Living Room)

2011-12-21T00:00:00.000-08:00

Decorating our home is probably one of my most favorite holiday traditions. Most years I try to do it as early as Thanksgiving weekend. This year I really wanted to start right after Halloween, but the kids kept insisting it wasn't right. Insert sad face here. :( But on Thanksgiving day, the adventure began ...

I love free printables ... this one from eighteen25 ... really updates my decor from Christmases past. Family picture from 10+ years ago when we had only one child living in da islands. The ornament tree is from Pier One 3+ years ago, every year it debuts in a different part of the house.

Our home is all about our family so we left most of the pictures out ... this one back to school from last fall. And my favorite red star that I keep out year round really looks most festive this time of year.

Banners were a fave even before pinterest and before they became popular all over the web. I made this one in a local scrapbook store scrap event 4 years ago. Love finding a new home for it each year. It's been above the fireplace, on the mirror in the dining room, by the nook in the kitchen and now in the living room!

I like simple decor, glass bowl full or ornaments ... easy peasy!

In our internationally influenced home, we also have bits of Eastern culture trimmed in holiday.

And only in an Asian house there money plants flanking our shelf and an altar for our ancestors.

As we travel, we are "blinging" our globe to show where we've been. A fun little piece of family history. Pink bling for mom, blue bling for dad and white bling for all of us together.

Even with my black thumb, it's just not Christmas without poinsettias. Keeping fingers crossed (and asking mom to help water it), we are trying to keep this one pretty like this until well into January.

What does your home look like decorated for the holidays? Please link in the comments, I would love a tour! :)

Holiday Event: Christmas Bunco

2011-12-20T04:44:00.000-08:00

There are ladies in our neighborhood that get together monthly for bunco, a game of dice. For Christmas Bunco I joined them for this fast moving game. Wow, beginner's luck ... I won lowest score ... or not!

Our fearless host this month, my neighbor Elena.

An ornament exchange was included. While I got a pretty sparkly ornament for our blingy tree this year, other's got a Tiffany inspired peace one and an eclectic snowman.

Our big winners for the night took home some cash I tell ya!

It was a great night of friendship and lots of laughs thanks to the wine.

Holiday Event: Moi's Work Party

2011-12-19T18:33:00.000-08:00

Every year Moi's work does a holiday party. One year it was at Mission Bay, another bowling downtown, last year it was at a hotel in Old Town. This year it was all you can eat sushi. YUM! Count me in please! It was loads of fun hanging out with his coworkers, some I've gotten to know kind of well and I always look forward to having a drink or two with them.

We even got a smiling couple picture in front of the tree ... that almost never happens!

Our neighbors also got in the act. Coworkers and neighbors is a nice coincidence. :)

This year Moi and his coworkers were in charge of games. In the minute to win it style, Moi had games with a holiday twist. Fishing for candy canes (with your mouth), hanging nails on a line (like hanging Christmas lights), and don't blow it this Christmas where you had to blow the card to slide off the table without falling completely off.

Let's try it from the front angle.

It really is harder than it looks, much harder than it seems.

Even climbing on the table to get just the right angle didn't help. In the end no one really got it. Moi insisted that he did it successfully in the trial run at the office. We blamed it on the slippery slate table with the beveled edge. Booooo.

But no one was too disappointed because all prizes not won were raffled off along with other prizes. The winners had to pick an envelope and decide if they wanted to keep it or trade it in for another envelope (a la Deal or No Deal). There were some nice prizes including a blue ray DVD player and a 2 night stay at a hotel in town.

Overall it was a fun afternoon of game show happenings and everyone really had a good time, even the ones that said they didn't really want to eat a "buffet". This one is not your typical buffet, check out Tora, it's delicious and full of variety ... a higher end "buffet" in my opinion.

Holiday Tradition : Decorating the Tree

2011-12-15T14:47:00.000-08:00

With the updated colors in our home this year, it was time to also change up the Christmas decor. Gone are the beach cottage-country snow man-red and gold theme. We now have a jewel toned glitzy modern theme. Starting with the Christmas tree, there are new glitter balls large and small ... my favorite being teal! It matches quite nicely with the blue and grey walls and my favorite portrait collection of quotes.

Gone are also the Hawaiian Santas (for now). Instead we have Hallmark ornaments that the girls picked out. Lena was five last year when she picked this one out.

Kaila wanted to show her love of technology as a tween with this cell phone. Her message to Santa will stay recorded on it for all time!

Nani likes "cute" things so this ornament for the year 2010 was perfect.

Celebrating the joy of the season starts nightly with our twinkling lights on the spinning tree. All is more quiet and peaceful in the house when the lights are on for some reason. I have to say how much I enjoy it. Do you turn your lights on to enjoy nightly in your home too?

currents

2011-12-12T14:37:00.000-08:00

time: 1:39pm
location: at desk
weather: raining ... gray and cold, which is unusual for socal
watching: Hart of Dixie. OMG, it's so cute! Downloaded on iphone to watch while driving through the desert between AZ and CA. Love it!
loving: all the Christmas decorations around town, in stores, at home. stretching out the enjoyment of this holiday season for the whole month of December.
thinking: how it's only the 2nd week and I'm really full of joy and memories for this wonderful season. how it's a few more weeks to keep living in the moment and dwell in this holiday spirit. yay!
wondering: if all this eating and drinking is going to look and feel terrible when I'm on the beaches of Hawaii next month, thus the salad above.
enjoying: the kids, the husband, the busyness and the mundane of our everyday life that we've built together
drinking: hot water because it's kind of cold out
eating: just finished a big plate of pasta from Little Italy (in addition to salad). I've lived in San Diego 8 years now and never been to Little Italy. Yum!

currents idea from here

(New) Holiday Tradition: The Grinch Musical

2011-12-06T21:55:00.000-08:00

I've never been on an outing with my oldest and her girl scout troop. I've never seen The Grinch musical and barely remember seeing The Grinch movie one time a long time ago. I've never heard of December Nights at Balboa Park, let alone been to it. But now, I think we might have started a new holiday tradition.

These girls were such a pleasure to spend the day with. They are well behaved. They are funny and they really enjoy each other's company. It was really nice to see my daughter interact that way with other girls her age, especially as we encounter these preteen years. I'm very grateful for a happy child!

Kaila's troop leader also leads a Brownie scout troop for her other daughter. They joined us too in all the fun!

The booths, the lights and the decorations at Balboa Park were very festive. The big Dr. Seuss tree was so cool and very merry! There were food booths from all over the world. It was definitely fascinating to smell all the various flavors. We visited with Peruvian, Italian, South African, Columbian, French, German, Hawaiian, Filipino and many more I'm sure I'm forgetting. It was a smorgasbord!

Another highlight of December Nights were the museums open for free admission. The girls played along with all the interactive displays at the science museum and were fascinated by the space museum. We even did a 4D movie experience where we felt like we were flying. The part that scared me most was the real water splashing in my face when we hit the bottom of a gutter! Eeeeww!

The Grinch musical was spectacular. The music was lively and loud and fun! The set was perfectly Dr. Seuss style. The lights were dramatic. The cast was wonderful. I was pleasantly surprised by the storyline. I'm familiar with how the Grinch steals Christmas but this play had just the right amount of unpredictability that you were stuck to your seats fully entertained the whole time. We didn't even have intermission. Kaila who is supposed to take notes for her drama class, didn't even bother to write anything down because she was so riveted by the performance. I can't wait to share this with the whole family and do this every year as a new holiday tradition.

Oh and the surprise ending of the night was being part of a flash mob. Michelle found out about it and brought flashlights. The girls sang We are the World by Michael Jackson, swaying back and forth with their flashlights along with about a hundred other people right around the fountain. It was such a fun filled day!

Holiday Event: East Tavern Bowl

2011-12-04T10:54:00.000-08:00

Our team holiday party varies from year to year. One year we did lunch in Coronado overlooking the bay. Another year we did a private magic show in Hollywood. Last year we did Flemings and then Casino Night. This year ... bowling at East Tavern Bowl.

It was casual but lots of fun for everyone to just let loose from work.

There was a best bowling shirt contest and some yummy food and drink.

It was a great afternoon of friendship, team bonding, good times and lots of laughs.

Holiday Tradition: Downtown Tree Lighting

2011-12-03T08:49:00.001-08:00

Every year Kaila's girl scout troop helps downtown at the annual tree lighting ceremony. There is Santa's arrival in the fire truck, Christmas crafts to make, milk and cookies to hand out to the little ones, and lots of caroling. There's also the street fair and we love all the food booths!

The cadette girl scouts love Lena because she's so little.

Nani and her girlfriend being cute and goofy! They have been friends since preschool and sometimes see each other 7 days a week but never tire of one another. The beauty of friendship!

The tree is ready for the first lights.

Countdown 10 ... 9 ... 8 ... then ... 3 ... 2 ... 1 ... lights!

Enjoying the street fair with friends.

A fun night and a great way to kick off the holiday season!

December Daily ... Online

2011-12-01T22:39:00.000-08:00

I've tried to do the December Daily for 2 years now and neither mini album is finished. The first year I didn't take pictures every day, the 2nd year I did but only put about one week's worth in the actual album. I'm thinking the daily bit is my downfall. The holiday just gets so busy and living life becomes more important than scrapbooking it. :)

But I love so much the idea of capturing memories this time of year, I can't NOT do it. So ... this Christmas I will be doing the December (not so) Daily online! I'm thinking more of just telling the most meaningful stories in short themes. Like ... decorating the house, trimming the tree, wrapping the presents, the cooking, the baking, all the parties, the family, the Christmas movies, the traditions, and so on and so on.

I'm thinking ... doing it digitally here on ye ol' blog might actually work. I carry my DSLR, take the pictures of the short stories I want to tell, download to my macbook and then blog the memory with pictures attached. At the end, I can use Blurb to print a photo book. Done! Could it be that simple? I'm hoping so.

If you care to join me, here is the pro and creator of December Daily herself, Ali Edwards with her thoughts on putting this together and samples of her scrapbook. Another gal I'm following who's doing it digitally is Scrappy Jedi. Wish me luck. The holidays are such an important time of the year, isn't it worth capturing those memories for all time ... or at least for the kids to pass on to their families one day? Come on, I know you want to join in too!

2004

2011-11-21T18:26:00.000-08:00

A comment I received recently was how my scrapbooking style has changed through the years. Yep! It's hard not to love the new products that come out year after year, it's hard not to follow the trends when they are so darn cute. But it is great to look back and see the progress and the changes. It's also fun to have captured a bit of it through the years in our scrapbooks.

In 2004, we vacationed in Walt Disney World for the first time as a family. Epcot Center was my favorite, Disneyland was the kids favorite. At the age of 2 and 4, we were very into the Disney princesses and it was a dream come true to meet them in person! Haha.

That fall, we continued our mainland tradition of visiting a pumpkin patch, this time with the cousins. I wonder what happened to that tradition? I think we lost momentum after the year the fires hit in October and there were hardly any pumpkin patches open to visit.

That year, we all shared what we were grateful for at Thanksgiving ... even Nani who couldn't write yet but was included by her scribbles. LOL

Played lots of bunco with the neighborhood gals and our annual Christmas gathering that year might have been one of the first times we did the white elephant gift exchange here in River Ranch. It's been a tradition ever since and so much fun!

Just thought it was appropriate to share these steps back in time to this time of year many years ago. Yes, times have changed but one thing has remained constant ... family and friends are the most important part of the holidays. Hope you are spending your holidays with family and loved ones, too.

Imperfection

2011-11-18T10:35:00.000-08:00

pic source

I read alot of blogs. Why do I care what other people are doing when I don't even know them? Why would I rather follow them than call up friends or family that are in the real world? Well, simply for perspective. Our friends and family are biased. Sometimes I need to step out of my own comfort zone and my own biases to get a better view. In the past couple of years, that view has lead to more purposeful living and a simpler lifestyle. A life that is imperfect.

Lately bloggers have taken a turn for the "real" and are showing how imperfect their lives really are. We don't live in magazines, we don't live on TV, we don't live like the Kardashians. We live in an imperfect world and I'm actually learning to be very okay with that. Focusing on simplicity meant accepting that I can't do it all, to let go of the things I'm just not interested in perfecting.

Simple Mom recently invited all readers to make a different kind of list. Not a to do list but rather a what NOT to do list. There are things that I'm not good at or am not interested in, so it's just easier to not do them. What a concept!

Things I don't do:

1. I don't cook. My kids will tell everyone I burn water.
2. I don't work out. I'm more a creative soul than an athletic soul.
3. I'm not sentimental, which sometimes means I forget birthdays. Not proud of that but accepting that as a weakness that I won't perfect. If I show my love everyday, then it's okay to forget that one special day right?
4. I don't draw or paint or do anything original. Isn't that what pinterest is for? I love to be inspired by other people's brilliant ideas.
5. I don't sing or play a musical instrument. In a family that totally does, I accept the fact that I'm tone deaf and am missing that gene.
6. I don't judge. I try to be patient and tolerant of everyone's differences but gosh it's so hard when they judge back and it hurts.
7. I don't want to be perfect. Again, so hard to be vulnerable and show your weaknesses because you worry people judge.
8. At the end of the day, I don't strive anymore. I do what I can each day to live the best I can and let the rest go. If not now, then when. Today is just as important as what tomorrow can bring.

When I remind myself of what I don't do, I can then focus on the things that I am good at, that I can do and that comes easy. That's simplicity for me right now.

What don't you do?

currents

2011-11-17T09:25:00.001-08:00

eating : ruffles ridges
drinking : monster instead of coffee today
listening : to other people's conference calls through cubicle walls
reading : ridiculous emails from clients
thinking : it's time to take out christmas decorations
wanting : to make time for christmas crafting and baking this year
feeling : like procrastinating
needing : to kill off inbox before the holidays

What is current for you today?

Californification

2011-11-10T06:00:00.000-08:00

UrbanDictionary.com definition of Californification: the act of becoming Californian.

In 2003, after moving to the mainland, it was time for new beginnings. Nani girl left Hawaii behind only 2 months after she was born. But now she has grandparents and uncles and aunties to shower attention on her chubby little baby self. We lived with my parents while trying to decide what part of Southern California we wanted to call home next.

We also spent many weekends visiting family in San Diego that year. Adventures in Legoland, Sea World and Wild Animal Park began. Lots of good times hanging out, grubbing and laughing late at night at the Filipino subtitles. All the more reason I'm sure we eventually decided to settle here.

In memory of

2011-11-08T06:00:00.000-08:00

Right after Kaila was born, we took her on her first trip to the mainland. We visited family in California and did the typical tourist attractions ... Hollywood, Disneyland, Santa Monica and Rainforest Cafe was a highlight.

That same year, mom and dad came to do some island hopping with us. Kauai, Big Island, Maui. The Pacific's Grand Canyon was a sight to see for sure.

It was the first time we met Lauren. Sharing our love of island life ... surfing, luaus, bbqs and lots of eating out. Lots of beach time equals really tanned skin ... Moi and Kaila were the darkest ever that summer.

The year 2002 was also a time of remembrance. Grandma will always be in our hearts. That year, we spent some good times visiting every other weekend or so. It was quite joyful for Kaila and her great grandma to spend quality time together.

It was the year 2001

2011-11-05T08:00:00.000-07:00

Turning back the clock 10 whole years ... Baby's First Luau, Sears Portrait Studios and Oceans! Memories are a definite bonus from my work in cleaning out and organizing my scrapbook layouts. Some of these friends we are still close to, some we are not. Living in a different place. Working at different jobs. Being a family of just 3. It's great how our lives are built in chapters. These chapters are worth rereading from time to time. Grateful for these chapters, for these memories and for those that have been a part of our lives as we lived out chapter 2001.

What were you doing in the year 2001? Want to take a walk down memory lane too?

Taking LESS to the scrapbooks

2011-11-03T06:50:00.000-07:00

A couple of months left of the year, a couple months left to focus on LESS. I finally went through all the layouts completed for the last ... oh ... 10 years or so. Can you believe I've been scrapbooking for more than 10 years?!? Me neither.

Taking them all out, sorting them by year, finally putting on the final touches on a few unfinished layouts. Talk about procrastinating ... waiting years to journal, to glue on the final touches and to put them into an actual album. LESS means tossing one here and there that were never going to get finished. Never meant to be.

I also realized there were some years that I scrapbooked way more than others. Was there more life to live in 2007 than any other year? Over 80 pages versus other years where 10 or 20 was all I got done. I think I used to scrap anything and everything and now I'm more focused on scrapping only the ones that really inspire me. LESS in scrapbooking means what matters most, enjoying the process and just caring less about the rest that I may never get to.

What does scrapbooking mean to you?

I just want to create something!

2011-11-02T14:33:00.000-07:00

source

With the holidays around the corner, I am seeing way too much inspiration. (Even the blog is ready. hah.) Oh what fun it would be to just create beautiful things ... just have to remember that everything I've saved in my phone, starred in my blogreader or pinned on pinterest is not a to-do item. Fun ideas are fun! I guess this is one time where LESS need not apply.

It was a happy Halloween!

2011-11-01T08:47:00.000-07:00

Kids had so much fun this year. Even Lena who was sick came out of her funk and enjoyed a little bit of trick or treating. But ... she did not want to pose for pics though. Perfect segue to the story of her funk ... Sunday as we were shopping for costumes, we had the most embarassing mommy moment ever!!!! In Joann's at the cash register with a line full of people, my poor baby got sick all over herself, me, my aunt and the floor. Not just a little sick ... a lot sick, gushing. I could not get out of there fast enough! Probably will avoid Joann's for a while. So so embarassing!!!!

Ekolu Kai Mini Take Two!

2011-10-30T08:35:00.000-07:00

The mini album continues with more favorite pics of the girls. I might be biased but I feel pretty lucky to have such great models for testing out my amateur photography skills.

My reason for scrapbooking

2011-10-28T06:02:00.000-07:00

Ekolu Kai. Ekolu meaning 3 and Kai is the beginning of their names ... they make me happy.

Every year for the past 5 years now we have been participating in Ever After's Survivor Crop. We stay up for 24 hours to raise money for Susan G Komen's Breast Cancer Foundation. Make n takes are part of the event and this is my twist on the minibook we created there. Breast cancer can and probably has touched us all in one way or another. It's a good reminder to get our mammograms and live life fully as we never know what surprises life may bring us.

What better way to remind myself to live life to the fullest than these 3?

The 3 C's ...

2011-10-27T06:18:00.000-07:00

... of life speaks to me. You're probably wondering why I chose to start over with this blog. In the year of less, I felt it appropriate to have less in my digital life. Would like to focus on real life now, scrapbooking it more and enjoying it more.

I'm making a choice to take a chance in order to change.
What change means to me right now ...
*less emotional (do I really have to act so tough to avoid hurt?)
*less fearful (try to avoid insecurities about what others think)
*less busy (if I'm spending quality time with the kids, does anything else matter?)
*less productive (things will not be better after my work is done, things are good right now!)

This might take me right out of my comfort zone ... but isn't that what taking chances is all about?

My One Little Word 2011 is ... LESS!

2010-12-29T06:04:00.000-08:00

I've been following scrapbooking blogs for a couple of years now. In that one little community, I've been inspired to change my perspective on life and try to live a more meaningful one. Scrapbooking is not just art or creativity, it's memories, it's quality time with family and friends, it's gratitude for the mundane day to day, it's life if you really think about it.

In 2009 I chose the word simplify. I keep going back to that year after year and try to find ways to keep it simple. Somehow, though, life takes over and complexity kicks in again. In 2010 I chose the word mindful. I wanted to stop and enjoy the moment. Really pay attention to life and to what's around me. Slow down the pace and enjoy the journey. That is really hard for a goal oriented, A-type planner like me ... but in the end I spent more free time with the kids and started to eat better. These words have become such a part of me, that it's natural to come up with a new word for 2011.

Last week, the word just hit me. Then every day after that, there was further proof that it was the right word for me right now. LESS. How can I live with less? How can I learn to do or need less? Because really, less can be more. If there's less on my to-do list, there's more time for fun. If there's less to want, then there's more time to enjoy what I already have. If there's less to strive for, then there's more time to be grateful for what god has already given us.

And the word LESS has become my point of focus right now. Are you going to choose One Little Word for 2011?

Ali Edwards' One Little Word
Creature Comforts Thoughts for the New Year
Big Picture Online Workshop
Be More With Less
Minimalist.com