Instant Mommie

Aloha Friday Round Up

2013-05-24T10:00:00.000-07:00

Prettiest Jewelry:

via Cheyenne Bianchini Creations

Cutest Card:

via Painted Fish Studio

Fave DIY

via The Wonder Forest

Best Frozen Alcohol:

via HorrorBBQ at Ownzee

Free Printable:

via Persnikety Prints

Favorite Blogging Tip:

via Cox Blue

Best Digital Craft:

via Nest of Posies

In Case You Missed It:
I'm still participating in the Blog Every Day in May Challenge. To see the latest posts in the series, click here. I also shared two of my newest pins, and a review of the sweet and tasty Sweet E's Cafe in my Beautiful Hawaii series.

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I'm Sorry I'm too Stubborn to say I'm Sorry...

2013-05-24T08:30:00.000-07:00

With some dear college friends somewhere in downtown Seattle.. or Tacoma, can't remember.

And why am I talking about my 3 worst traits, shouldn't I be selling myself?? Anyway - we're finishing out this blog every day in may challenge soon... and geez what a challenge its been. Throughout the process I've been excited to post things, uneasy posting some things and felt a little redundant at times - but this was definitely a great experience; and alot of Jenni to put together with hundreds of bloggers giving their opinions on prompts, etc. That being said, way to go Jenni.

My three worst traits (that I'm willing to admit) are that:

I am a stubborn, hard headed person - according to my boyfriend and my mom and my cousin and my... you get the picture. Yep... what can I say! Lol. Not a whole lot. Sometimes it works in my favor and sometimes I end up learning lessons the hard way because of it. I also procrastinate a ton. My poor mom! She would have to help me put together projects for school the night before and oh boy did she ~~enjoy it!~~ Thanks mom! Love you! I don't know why I wait till the last second of a deadline, but I do. At least the only person that suffers from this is yours truly. Lastly, I don't always say, "sorry," when I should. This is one that I am working on. In my relationship with Chris, family, friends. I don't know if it is a pride thing, or the opposite - shame in admitting I was wrong (you know, I'm stubborn and hard headed). For some reason, it takes me a while to say sorry sometimes, which can hurt people that I love.

So that is that folks - my three worst traits that I'm willing to admit. What about you?? Send me your link if you're participating in the challenge!

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This is a post that is a part of the Blog Every Day in May Challenge, from the lovely Jenni. Today's prompt is to share your top three worst traits.

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Pinterst Thursday

2013-05-23T11:00:00.000-07:00

This is going to be quick today, especially since I have a whole lot to share with you tomorrow on the round up.

via

Um yes, I die! Actually... more like my boyfriend.. but this would be perfect for your Memorial Day BBQ!

via

And so 1) these are genius 2) these are super pretty 3) these would be great at a party 4) they are perfect for summer 5) um not only can these be used for coffee, but hello DIY vanilla coke!

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Since GFC will be 6 feet under soon... stay up to date with me on bloglovin!

3 Things I Didn't Learn in School

2013-05-23T08:30:00.000-07:00

The idea that everyone makes $40k+ a year straight out of... sorry guys, not gonna happen (and here is why)...

They don't make resume classes mandatory: To this day, I am still looking for ways to re-work my resume and make it look the most appealing. It would have been really great if it were a mandatory class to take senior year of high school (or at least an elective) and definitely freshman year of college (with a possible "test out"). Lessons I've learned thus far? Years ago, it was preferred to have your resume all on one side of a sheet of paper. Now days, it is a full on marketing advertisement of yourself [game board resume] Also - you have to tailor your resumes to each individual job. A school principal will not care about your housekeeping skills.

They don't teach you the value of networking: I don't know if this just went over my head in high school or college, but I totally missed that one. So I am definitely playing catch up and it doesn't help that I am notoriously shy when meeting others. Networking is pretty vital. If I didn't have the gall to introduce myself to the last presenter in my senior marketing class that the professor brought in to speak, I wouldn't have the job I have today. And I pretty much don't know where I'd be because the business I worked at prior to my current employer closed up shop last year.

They don't stress the importance of internships: My best friend from college, Ally, and I were just talking about this. Only during our last semester or so in college when we started looking at "real" jobs did we realize that school is nice (its important), but guess what trumps school... EXPERIENCE. This is the one thing I would change if I could re-do my college education. Internships internships internships. We look at some of our close friends from college that are rollin' in the dough all due to their internships during school and the opportunity those internships presented to NETWORK.

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This is a post that is a part of the Blog Every Day in May Challenge, from the lovely Jenni. Today's prompt is to share about things you've learned that school won't teach you.

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10 second Chores or Nagging??

2013-05-22T09:00:00.000-07:00

oh... decisions decisions decisions...-----> while this right here <---- is a great rant about social inequality in an ELEMENTARY SCHOOL... today i am going to climb up the stairs to my soap box and talk about... MEN.

Geez, you can't live with em and you can't live without em.. I know they feel the same way, but I mean, come on. It isn't that hard to change the toilet paper roll, close the cabinet doors, put your clothes in the laundry basket. Does it really put you out to pick up after yourself so we don't have to tackle a mountain of cleaning on the weekend? Does it kill you to do the dishes after your lady has cooked for you and the family after you both had a long day at work?? You feel me?

via

I hate when you ask them a question (knowing darn well they know the answer - and you do to, and they're like...

When you want their opinion on something and they...

And when they're PMS-ing (because guys have man cycles too) and they act like they're getting mad - we see right through it!

And like seriously... end of discussion, we're better drivers than you! So stop it with the...

Lastly.... I think we can sum it up with this...

WE SEE YOU BOO BOO!!!

Disclaimer: This is all in fun! I'm sure a guy could write out a good rebuttal with some hella funny gifs, but just take it for what it is and have a laugh...!!! Today's prompt may probably have a ton of bloggers on edge about their rant and I just wanted to lighten the load for the day!

All gifs in this post are from Gifrific

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This is a post that is a part of the Blog Every Day in May Challenge, from the lovely Jenni. Today's prompt is to rant about something.

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Food and Family!

2013-05-21T17:12:00.002-07:00

I'm gonna keep this short and sweet, since I'm sending you to four different places on my blog today. Enjoy! Some of my favorite recipes and posts about the two people closest to me... mom and dad!

Chocolate Dipped Strawberry Dream Cupcakes

4 Years Ago Today (a post about Dad)

Peanut Butter Chocolate Nut Candies

I Hope I Can Be as Good of a Mom as You are, Mom!

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This is a post that is a part of the Blog Every Day in May Challenge, from the lovely Jenni. Today's prompt is to share a list of links to my favorite posts in my archives.

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Struggles...

2013-05-20T09:30:00.000-07:00

You know.. I'm so not in the mood to talk about something that I'm struggling with. I mean, don't get me wrong - there are definitely some things in my life I'm struggling with - didn't we just talk about the lot in our lives last week?? Anyway - so some typical things I'm struggling with.... (if I have to..)

weight (as if you didn't know already) but guess what... I GOT A MOUNTAIN BIKE.. (now I gotta figure out how to use it, last time I owned a bike I was a kid and back peddled to brake) ... and I GOT A MEMBERSHIP TO 24 HOUR FITNESS FOR $100 FOR THE WHOLE YEAR (my kaiser health insurance is kinda rad like that)

financial stability (as if you didn't already know) counting down the months to July 2016.

some personal things that are WAY to personal for this blog

For more interesting news check out the post below about Sweet E's Cafe. Oh, I'm craving it now!

I just needed to post some of these old pictures I took on a "booze cruise" of all things, to liven it up a little.

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This is a post that is a part of the Blog Every Day in May Challenge, from the lovely Jenni. Today's prompt is to get real, share something you're struggling with right now.

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Sweet E's Cafe

2013-05-20T08:00:00.000-07:00

Good Morning yall! I hope you all had a great weekend and are ready to charge on this coming week, cause I am. We are back with another installment of Beautiful Hawaii, where I share and highlight some great places and must see, do and eat spots when you visit (or move)!

Today we are traveling to Kapahulu, a little "sub-town" (making up my own words), in a little area right outside of Waikiki before it gets into Diamond Head and Kahala going East. Nestled in the back of Kilohana Square is a little breakfast spot that is cutest thing ever. Their decor is shabby coastal mixed with clean black lines via black and white photos in frames and black and white chairs and tables. I love it.

Let's get down to business shall we? Service and Food!
Right off the bat, the team and Sweet E's got it down pact. They are on it. All the waiters and waitresses checked on my Mom and I during our visit. It made me feel comfortable that I didn't have to wait for "our" waiter, but could ask anyone for anything. It was really homey, which I love.

Here we have my mom's Corned Beef Hash Benedict with Hash Browns. Can you say yum. The sauce was perfect, portions (delightful) and all together a perfect meal for a hungry momma who has been up since 4:30 in the morning.

I love, love, love Lox Bagel. So you can imaging my delight to find that this baby was on the menu as I perused the pictures on Yelp. It was a perfect "lunch" for me. Coupled with a tall glass of POG (Passion Orange Guava juice).

I eat blueberries because they are good for me. I'm not a fan of them otherwise. I think they kinda lack in taste and they are, "eh." But this right here... These Blueberry and Cream Cheese Stuffed French Toast slices right here... A must!!! PS: A full order are 3 full french toasts, like this plate times 3. We asked for just one and got it as a side.

*Another side note, for anyone who loves Lilikoi butter like I do... THEY HAVE SOME IN THE BACK.. You just have to ask for it! I believe the sell it by the bottle as well, but you'll have to ask!

Anyway if you're in Hawaii, go pay them a visit ASAP. If not, make this one of your first stops when you get here!!

yelp || facebook || instagram

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This post is a part of Beautiful Hawaii - a curation of posts featuring the beautiful state of Hawaii and all it offers.
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5 Fave Blogs!

2013-05-19T09:00:00.000-07:00

1. Oh, Hello Friend

I just love love love Danni's style and her shop - I wish it were here in Hawaii. All those knick knacks and little things. It would drive me crazy trying to pick all these detailed items for the shop, but she really has a knack for it! And I love her style. I would never be able to pull it off.

2. Jessica Who?

This girl - she's great. Again I love her style as well. Are you seeing a trend. I've really taken a liking to lifestyle-esque blogs and Jessica's is no different, plus she lives in Hawaii - so kudos to her!

3. Julie Ann Art

I'm kinda wondering how many lists Julie will make. She is such an inspiration to me in different ways. Dominantly the business aspect though. Plus she has the cutest love story.

4. Everything Etsy

Kim is incredible and gives hope to all the super duper small, newbie Etsy shop owners. She is always an inspiration and I always look forward to her blog posts.

5. Oh Happy Day

This is the newest fave blog that I stumbled upon on Bloglovin' one day. I love Jordan's ideas and simplicity in her party centric blog.

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This is a post that is a part of the Blog Every Day in May Challenge, from the lovely Jenni. Today's prompt is to share 5 of your favorite blogs an what you love about them.

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Pedal to the Metal

2013-05-18T23:30:00.000-07:00

I thought this post would be super easy today. Alas, I've struggled to come up with a story I wanted to tell until 11:30 at night!

Once upon a time there was a tight knit group of friends who were juniors in high school. They did everything together, even hanging out with their parents. It was basketball season. The boys started practice at 7am in the morning, would get to school at 8am, skip the first hour to shower/get ready and jump in at 9am. One morning, us girls were running late to school - to the tune of like 8:02. So we said, the hell with getting tardy slips for two minutes, lets get breakfast! And off to Jack in the Box we went.

After our little detour, we found the boys in the parking lot arriving to school from practice. As we pulled up in the parking lot aisle - they were... BEING BOYS... trying to get us irritated. Since no one was around we just parked our car in the aisle, and were chomping on our breakfast when one of the boys dared us to hit him with the car (playfully). We ignored him, until he egged us on. I gave my breakfast sandwich to my friend, put the car in drive and put the PEDAL to the METAL...

And as quickly as I "put the pedal to the metal" - I slammed on the brakes... O.R.A.N.G.E. J.U.I.C.E (left on the dashboard) all over my W.H.I.T.E. pants (and my friends brand new black honda civic). A few phone calls and some white lies to our parents and them to the school - we went home, washed the pants, watched some TV, and showed up to school right after lunch.

And this my friends, was about as "badass" as I got in school, lol.

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This is a post that is a part of the Blog Every Day in May Challenge, from the lovely Jenni. Today's prompt was to tell a childhood story.

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Round Up - my first!!!

2013-05-17T11:30:00.000-07:00

For months and months and months I've been meaning to do a round up. I love reading everyone's round ups of different things they have found over the course of the week, and always remember to do it when it's too late. (wah wah wah, cry me a river already).

With that being said.... I've decided on my day to be Friday (and when I re-brand my site, I'll probably incorporate Pinterest highlights into this post and retire Pinterest Thursdays, (oh no!).

In Case You Missed It:

This has been another eventful week on Instant Mommie mostly due to the Blog Every Day in May

Challenge. First off I toyed with some tag lines for Uncle Bob's salts in the sell yourself in 10 words post; then I relived my past in what I missed; and then obliged to write a heartfelt apology to my dad; after that a little sunshine imposed on the blog with 10 things that make me happy and an introduction to my Beautiful Hawaii posts with a feature for Hank's Haute Dogs!; next I showed off some pics I edited with the new A Beautiful Mess app; towards the end of the week I talked about a typical day for me, always having room for growth, graduation gift ideas and my favorite photo.

Blogging:

*New friends: Ashlea with an A and A Girl, A Story, A Blog

*Tools and Tips for Creative Blogging

Business:

*The Blog Post I've Been Waiting to Write

*Top 5 Tips for Getting Press

*Five Tips to Spring Cleaning your Email Inbox

Food:

*Ezra Pound Cake - Meatless Monday California Sandwich

* Simply Scratch - Cheesy Chicken and Cilantro Pesto Baked Flautas

Inspiration:

via The Love Shop on etsy

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Punalu'u Beach

2013-05-17T07:00:00.000-07:00

This photo is an "untouched" picture I took with my old iPhone. It isn't bedazzled with Photoshop or all the fun photo apps that I love such as: PicTapGo, ABeautifulMess, PhotoForge, Over etc. I don't love this picture because I got the right aperature, and the ISO level is on point and whatever else photography jargon comes with amazing blog photos. I love this picture because it is sentimental. This is Punalu'u Beach on the North East side of the island, one of my favorites for its authenticity, serenity and peacefulness. This beach is also very dear to my heart because it is the site that I scattered my dad's ashes at.

Aloha oe Dad! I love you!

EDIT: Apparently I read the post wrong, it was supposed to be a photo of myself, but hey - a little selflessness never hurt anyone!! Oh well, try again! Happy Aloha Friday.

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This is a post that is a part of the Blog Every Day in May Challenge, from the lovely Jenni. Today's prompt was your favorite photo, and why.
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Pinterest Thursday - graduation edition

2013-05-16T16:46:00.002-07:00

Recently, my friend, Cherity, asked me to help her come up with some ideas for her son's preschool graduation. Of course, I turn to Pinterest - who has time to think up ideas on their own now-a-days!

Here are some festive graduation ideas, brought to you by the lovely pinterest!

via

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Always Growing

2013-05-16T16:33:00.000-07:00

I’ve been dreading this post all week long. I didn’t know what to write about. It is comforting to see that there are people in the same boat. And then there are others like Shay, who pretty much spilled her guts today – which she must have, if she willfully (is that even a word?) spilled them.

There are definitely things in life that can be improved on; but nothing to the degree of being stumped on how to push through; or feeling defeated. I will never top learning. I will never stop improving. I haven’t arrived, and never will.

Two big things in life that I am working on are:

Financial Stability
Health

I cannot wait for the day that I can announce I’m debt free! What a weight off my shoulders that will be. I have to wait about 3 years for that (hello car payment and student loans), which is ok. Also – I cannot wait for the day that I am back down to what I weighed at twenty-one. This is my biggest struggle, and I’m gonna have a party when I beat it!

And as life predictably plays out, once those two things are all worked out, I’ll have more things to work on in life and the cycle continues.

All-in-all, I am happy with life. I have a wonderful family that I love and adore. A boyfriend and his son that swept me off my feet. A secure job. Great friends to share with.

Now you…! What are you working on in your life? What are you excited to beat down??

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This is a post that is a part of the Blog Every Day in May Challenge, from the lovely Jenni. Today's prompt was something difficult about your "lot in life" and how you're working to overcome it.

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A Typical Day

2013-05-15T23:30:00.000-07:00

FAIL... major fail for this post! I really wanted to do a picture-esque "day in the life of" but I messed up on that one...

So you just get a boring, run of the mill paragraph of words!! Fun times. NOT!!

A typical weekday in my life involves normal morning routines such as washing your face, brushing your teeth and hair and getting ready for the day. I also take my dog out for his morning walk and poop n pee. My drive to work takes anywhere from twenty to sixty minutes - yes that is how crazy traffic is! Then I work (if you want to know the details, see this post).

After work most times I usually come home, get dinner ready - spend time with Chris and CJ (on the weeks we have the little guy) and then hit the hay. Sometimes I stop off at my grandpa's house to see my fun little nephews. But typically that's my boring day! I hope to give this post a re-do, and actually do a picture post; just need to set my phone to remind me to take a pic every half hour or hour... we'll see how that goes!

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This is a post that is a part of the Blog Every Day in May Challenge, from the lovely Jenni. Today's prompt was a day in the life of.
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#ABMapp dump

2013-05-15T13:47:00.000-07:00

I am enjoying the app from A Beautiful Mess, and wanted to share some of the photos I've played with! I love the doodles and borders, they are a ton of fun!

I wish there were more fonts, but I'm sure they'll release more in future updates. Some things I wish they would tweak would be to either undo (instead of starting all over); or to include layers; Also I love to be able to pick my own colors, so if they could add that in on top of the preselected ones (because that mint is perfect) - I would love it even more!!

bonus points if you know the answer, leave it in the comments!

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Hank's Haute Dogs

2013-05-14T18:09:00.003-07:00

Hi everyone, and welcome to a new “type” of post for Instant Mommie. Since I was born and raised in Hawaii and continue to live here, I find it rather odd – and quite sad that I don’t show off my home state nearly as much as I should – so without further ado, my first post about Beautiful Hawaii.

Today we are grabbing a ‘dog and hangin out at Hank’s Haute Dogs.

Located in the heart of Honolulu, in the Kaka’ako District, Hank’s has been very popular, even attracting national tv shows such as: Diner’s Drive Inns and Dives and Man vs. Food.

I had been meaning to check this place out for over a year – and never got around to it. Then one day, while I was in downtown during the lunch hour I thought, “let’s check out Hank’s!” And so we did.

Hank’s Haute Dogs is a quaint little lunch stop that has about 8 picnic tables out doors and counters to sit at inside. Somehow, they get good air flow there, because even on a hot day, we had some nice Hawaiian breezes come through the windows.

It was hard deciding what to order, but Chris had the Fat Boy (an all beef dog, wrapped in bacon and deep fried, then served with mayo, tomato and lettuce) and I ended up ordering the Hawaiian (a portuguese sausage dog with mango mustard and pineapple relish). We waited less than ten minutes for our gourmet burgers. While waiting I browsed the interior décor and found it to be homey and interesting. Hank’s has a wall of old school menus dating to the 1930s, talk about 25 cents for hamburger and “pop”.

the fat boy

We both enjoyed our dogs. They were juicy, full of flavor and the condiments Hank selected for both really compliment the dogs. They also provide dipping sauces, which I think are for the dogs, but we used them for our BOMB.COM french fries (they got good fries yall!). Chris got the Chipotle Mayo and I got the Garlic Aioli. They also have some other fun ones like Wasabi Tobiko Crème, Furikake Ranch and Curry Ketchup. This time around I didn’t try any of their specialty drinks but Hibiscus Lemonade and Lilikoi-Lime Soda definitely sounds refreshing right about now!

the hawaiian

All-in-all we enjoyed our quick pit stop lunch at Hank’s and will definitely be back when we are in the area. I definitely want to try some of the other dogs such as the Bratwurst, Chicago, Polish, Wild Boar (served with a cran-apple relish black pepper thyme mustard and lettuce), The Greek, Buffalo Brat (a buffalo and beef sausage made with brown ale and chipotle, pineapple relish, cabbage and Guinness mustard) and the Kobe (with hoisin-ginger mustard, seasame napa cabbage, pickled daikon-carrot and furikake).

Check out Hank's website HERE. And click HERE for the menu!

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This post is a part of Beautiful Hawaii - a curation of posts featuring the beautiful state of Hawaii and all it offers.
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Since GFC will be 6 feet under soon... stay up to date with me on bloglovin!

happy things!

2013-05-14T13:44:00.003-07:00

love love love these boys (nephews and CJ!)

- hearing my iPhone “cha-ching” me to alert me of a new etsy sale… I hate to do this, but when I read Lenora’s ten things over at Yellow Heart Art, I just had to include this into my ten things as well.

- photo apps… specifically PicTapGo and Over

- hawaiian food… I mean seriously, the best cuisine ever! Melt in your mouth squid luau, lomi salmon all mixed in the poi – I better stop now before I turn off the English and turn on the Pidgeon (local slang).

- dominoes… in particular, beating my boyfriend , especially since he was my teacher.

- zumba… makes me feel like I’m a professional dancer (&& I need to get back into that stat!)

- rain… only when I’m not working and am at home in bed or on the couch watching a movie with Chris.

- grilling at the beach… life can’t get much better than that right, a few burgers and ‘dogs, cold tricks, sunshine and ocean – life is definitely good at that moment.

- winning contests… who wouldn’t want to score some extra ‘dough – or a free trip to Vegas?

- puppy love… I love coming home to kisses from my doxbull, Kaimana.

- completing a level on candy crush… now days I can be stuck on a level for weeks at a time (currently on level 102).

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This is a post that is a part of the Blog Every Day in May Challenge, from the lovely Jenni. Today's prompt was to list ten things that make you happy.

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Dear Dad

2013-05-13T18:37:00.000-07:00

Dear Dad,

I just wanted to apologize that I had to be your caretaker when you were sick. I wish we could have afforded the money to have someone take care of you. At twenty-one years old, it’s a tall order to be a sole caretaker, and I tried my best to hold everything together, as much as I could for you. When you’re twenty-one, the thought never crosses your mind about having to take care of your parents at that age.

I’m sorry for the times I got frustrated with you. I’m sorry for the times we were irritable with each other. I’m sorry for the times I was lazy and didn’t want to go to the store for you. I’m sorry for not keeping the house tidy for you – I should have taken that upon myself. I’m sorry for not showing more care – I know you knew I did, but I could have done more. I’m sorry for being rude at times, when I should have shown kindness.

Thank you for still loving me through it all. I know that you understood the place I was in – and that sometimes it was the only way I could deal with certain situations.

Thank you for choosing to go with hospice in your last month of life. For giving me the opportunity to be your daughter again, because somewhere in that last year, we lost that relationship and all I wanted was to be able to have it back again. I will always always love you for that. I know you wanted to go home, thank you for being selfless; letting others help to care for you and ultimately letting me be your daughter again.

I love you,
Aukele

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This is a post that is a part of the Blog Every Day in May Challenge, from the lovely Jenni. Today's prompt was to issue a public apology.

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A Couple of Things I Miss

2013-05-12T09:00:00.000-07:00

I think this month will be a record month of posts... :) Lol.. anyhow, we're back, with... you guessed it! Another edition of the Blog Every Day in May challenge, hosted by the lovely Jenni.

Today's prompt? What do you miss?

I think this is 6th grade, obviously we were doing some type of hula performance... You notice how us girls are trying to act serious, while the boys are full on smiling, lol!

I miss being a kid: This kid "era" pretty much sums up from birth until I was about 19 - after finishing my college stint in Oregon. Life was good. I didn't worry about too much. The only bills I had was maybe a phone bill and one credit card that I barely used in college. It was so nice to have a care free life. Only worrying about getting good grades in school, passing a test. I would go back to those days in a heart beat.

Sophomore year in biology class! We were a small school and were totally psyched that we'd actually get to cut open frogs and other animals, lol.

At one of the block parties for St. Paddy's Day!

I miss my dad: This is probably pretty obvious. For anyone that has lost a parent - I'm pretty sure we can all agree that not a day goes by that you don't think of them. Whether it be something happened you wish you could tell them; to an onset of emotions and crying your eyes out all over again; to a dream; to looking at a picture and reminiscing of a fun memory. I know that he is up, above - but for me, he is missing a lot; watching me blossom in my career, opening up his salt shop, CJ, a future walking down the aisle and grandkids. He would have made an awesome granddad. I miss him.

I think this is circa 2006.. one of our favorite past times, cosmic bowling.

I miss the performing arts: I was highly involved in performing arts as a kid, through high school and some college - and I miss it. I miss singing on stage, playing piano, a few skits here and there and dancing. A couple of days ago we were watching Sister Act 2; and our church's kids dance group, Kids Posse used to dance the "heck" out of Joyful, Joyful - we played that bad boy out real quick but continuously performed that song... and Stomp! Haha... Oh - and we would do the human music video for Champion by Carman.. Anyone remember that? "In the vast expanse, Of a timeless space, Where silence ruled, The outerspace, Ominously towering it stood, The symbol of a Spirit War, Between the one named Lucifer, And the Morning Star, The ultimate of good..." I played one of two angels that narrarated the whole thing while other enacted the war, etc. Haha - again, being a kid the good ol days!

Lastly..

I'm pretty much non-existent in this pic.. far right. This night was at a bowling alley, I was home for one night on my way to another island for two nights for a family wedding and then back up to Oregon for school. And what an eclectic bunch of girls we were with different styles!

I miss always hanging out with friends: Now everyone is married and have kids. We all have careers. We all miss each other and wish we had more time, but hey - we aren't kids anymore, we've grown up. I miss hanging at Zippy's all the time - the waitresses probably don't, us kids just hanging on their tables while they lose out on tip money. I miss meeting up after work for a quick drink before heading home. I miss the days we used to karaoke every Monday night, that was a ton of fun. I miss the days we used to spend all Saturday together prepping for youth service, and then all night at youth service and then hanging out afterwards! I miss the days when it was cool for the kids to hang out together with the parents and we'd sing songs on the guitar, go out to the beach, hang out in Kahaluu on the mountain tops... I miss those day!

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Get your Salts.. calling all Cooks!

2013-05-11T23:00:00.000-07:00

I had a good time with coming up with ideas for today's challenge over at Jenni's Blog Every Day in May challenge. Today's prompt: sell yourself in 10 words or less.

I came up with some tag lines for my salt shop, which you should check out right now and stock up for BBQ season!!

1. Make YOUR Uncle Bob happy, and purchase his salts today!

2. Everyone has an Uncle Bob, do you have his salt?

3. Flavor your summer grilling with your favorite Uncle Bob's Salts.

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Most Embarrassing Moment...

2013-05-10T12:46:00.002-07:00

&& we're back with another post for Jenni's challenge! Today's topic:

MOST embarrassing moment EVER

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Growing up in Hawaii, not only do you learn Hawaiian culture, but you learn many other different polynesian cultures. I was taught how to dance with poi balls which is of the Maori culture, mostly based in New Zealand. In the gif above, this guy is doing a reversed one handed butterfly. Basically moving it in the front and back of his body....

on to embarrassing moment

At my church we incorporate polynesian cultural dances into our services on different special occassions. One weekend, I was asked to dance with poi balls in a mini Polynesian review with one song. We had four or five different types of dances during one song that was sung after the announcements. Now mind you, this was thrown together last minute and we didn't even get to rehearse entry and exit. All I knew was when to go on and when to go off. I did my little dance... showed off a couple of tricks; and as I was exited the stage, I was doing a overhead butterfly (so the movement in the gif above was being done, just over my head, like a helicopter). As I walked off stage

I HIT MY PASTOR'S HEAD WITH THE POI BALL...

seriously, how embarrassing. I didn't know that I had hit her in the back of her head until I was back up in the dressing room and everyone else told me. I profusely apologized to her - and she laughed about it with me. The next service, I opted to walk off with the poi balls down at my side, opposed to the ~~grand~~ embarrassing exit in the prior service!

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Pinterest Thursday [an eclectic curation]

2013-05-09T12:00:00.000-07:00

Hey now - check me out.. stickin with this Pinterest Thursday get'up. Today's series is kind of eclectic and all over the place, but what mom isn't, right? As they all say, for every decadent and sinful dessert is a promising fitness post that you'll "start tomorrow or Monday"

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At least I didn't include one of those decadent desserts, right? That just would have been too cliche!

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A Moment in My Day (not)

2013-05-09T09:00:00.000-07:00

Aloha all -

So I'm super happy tomorrow is Friday - but today I'm crazy busy at an all day conference, so I figured instead of sharing a moment in my day (since that would be crazy boring for all of you) with all the amazing bloggers doing Jenni's blog every day in may challenge; I would share a moment in my life that was completely and totally cool beans, rad!

My best friend from college, Ally, visited me for two weeks a few years ago and we had a total blast playing tourist. One of my Dad's friends worked at Dolphin Quest at the Kahala Mandarin Hotel, and we got to play with this little guy for about an hour. He definitely showed off all his tricks. Coincidentally, in this picture the trainer is pointing out his "hoo haa" being a little too excited.. :)

enjoy!

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Did you get your vitamin D today?

2013-05-08T20:41:00.005-07:00

Today’s challenge asks us to “give advice.” A few days ago I put together some ideas down for the topics – just so that I didn’t draw complete blanks; and I had a great post that was really coming together – and then it went missing… dun dun dun!

This afternoon, I accompanied the boyfriend to a hearing for workman’s comp, and as we were walking outside to the car - I just saw this pretty tree, beautiful skies and just enjoyed the beauty of that moment. With the shady tree, paired with the hot sun and a beautiful “artful” display of clouds I thought… it is good to.. GET SOME SUNSHINE!

I encourage you to get out there! Go get some vitamin D. It does a body good!

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