Is it just me thinking this??

Is it just me or is SWINE FLU is EVERYWHERE???? My nephew's baby contracted the flu and he is only 3 weeks old. Scary! I hope my nephew Josh doesn't get it and pass it on to me. ME -NO-LIKE-E. :)

I've been watching the news and there are outbreaks of the flu everywhere. Being a teacher I am having my kids clean their desks once a week and constantly wash their hands. Am I being paranoid?

I think we should start wearing face masks....lol...you know the masks you see all the Asians wearing in Asia.


What do you think?

Changing a battery

Running low on charge= New Battery.
I shopped around to see what would be the cheapest battery.
I found that Costco has a great price...$55.00 plus tax. Costco even gives you a cash rebate for turning in your old battery! $9.61. I was a little hesitant in changing the battery because I have never done it before. (Costco does not change batteries)
The guy from Costco told me how to change the battery so I felt pretty confident changing the battery on my own.

First step in changing a battery is unscrewing the bolts holding the battery to the car. I was able to unscrew 2 bolts before I hear, "You having car trouble?" I look up and it is someone who lives in my apartment complex. I proceed to say, " I'm just changing my battery, I hope I am doing it right." He says, "Hold on, I will be right back with some tools."

So the guy came back with his tools just in time to take the last bolt off the battery. Good timing MR!....I didn't have a tool to take off the last bolt.

Thank goodness for nice people. I love it when guys come to the rescue! :)

I even got more tips on how to change the battery!! The tips included... rub the inside of the +/- attatchment with sandpaper if it is rusty/curoded. Sanding helps the battery work better. He also used some kind of glue to keep the bolts from moving.

I am very appreciative for his knowledge. THANK YOU NEIGHBOR! I didn't get his name...my bad. :)

I now have a new battery that helps my car run great! Yay!

Proud Great Aunt!

My big Baby Nephew! I got Josh his own Binki! :)


Joshua Ikaika Pa'a'a'ao Harvey has a baby boy! The babies name is Kawika which mean David in Hawaiian. The mother didn't give the baby the Harvey last name. I believe the last name is Tauiliili-Unufe. I am not sure of the rest of the name because it is SOOOO long! LOL. Hawaii peeps know what I am talking about! ; )

Kawika's mom is the granddaughter of Dawn Wassons Brother. For those of you who don't remember who Dawn is, she is the Hawaiian lady who lives by the Crackle fresh egg farm. She was the one who protested the NEW sewer system in Laie because it would impose on Hawaiian land. Small world right? :)

I am excited to see Kawika grow.


Here are a few pictures.

Update from TACO NIGHT

I got home from school and was pleasantly surprised with what I found! I had told my nephew Josh to clean up for me because I didn't have time, he did it!!! :) Good thing he cleaned because when I got home from school I had no extra time.
I had a list of things to get done. I tried to keep myself calm. :)

List of things to do:
Chop up all the fruit and tomatoes.
Chop up and cook the hamburger/ chicken in taco seasoning.
Set up the taco bar
Make ranch dip
Clean my bathroom
Clean my room
Dust the couch
Fill the dishwasher and turn it on
Clean the kitchen floor
Take out the trash
ETC.

I tried to do all this on my own...but I ended up needing help from my sisters. My sister Tami came over and helped me cut up fruit, and her son Lonzo took out the garbage. My sister Mel ran to the store and got 2 things I needed.
Thank you for your help sisters and nephew!

The party....
My guests showed up 15 min early!! Man, I am not use to "EARLY" coming from Hawaii! :) Hawaiian time=20-30 min late.
I tried not to let myself freak out that they were early. I wasn't done cooking the chicken so I put an apple tray with carmel dip and a fruit tray with Kiwi, oranges, and grapes out for the hungry people. :) Yum!

Here comes the multi-tasking....
My friend brought her 2 children. One of her children is a 2 YR OLD! He is so cute, but a handful! While I was cooking and preparing food he came in the kitchen and said that he wanted to walk on my tredmill. I told him not yet, so he waited...oh...5 seconds and asked again. I finally gave in after 5 times. I had to move all the stuff off the tredmill before he could use it. :) Does that tell you anything??? LOL. (No usage???) I set the speed at 0.5. :) He was entertained for about....5 min. LOL. Not long enough! :) I guess he got bored because he touched the buttons to go faster. I look over and he is going WAY TOO FAST! I hurried over to try to slow it down and I was a little too late. HE ATE THE TREDMILL! Nuts! Dangerous!
He didn't get hurt, it just scared me.


He moved on from the tredmill and started to bug me again. Where are the parents you ask???
They are chatting away with my other guests. :)



I went back to cooking and then I hear..."I want MILK!" HE opened and looked in the fridge. I was impressed that he was so independent! I don't mind kids doing what they want unless it irritates me. :)
I'm glad we had milk!







The fun didn't end there...! It was cute to have a 2 yr old around. It helps me remember that I should count my blessings of not having kids. :) LOL. J/K. I love kids! ;)


We all had a great time chatting, and we even had time to play games!
We played my favorite game Scattergories!





I was really happy with the night! Yay, my party was a success! :)



After the party my sisters and I discussed how things went.
We came to the conclusion that my teacher friends are AWESOME and we want to hang out with these couples again!
Mrs. K, you were missed! :)


I often wonder why I stress myself out and plan parties.....I guess the parties pay off because I keep wanting to have them.:)
Alohas

TACO night & Upcoming Events

I am having people over for taco night tonight. I'm NOT having a DEL TACO taco night. LOL. :) Two people asked me if I was doing a Del taco taco night. I thought that was funny. I didn't know there was a Tuesday taco night at Del taco.
I am excited for the gathering! I invited 2 teachers from my school who are cool. :) I will let you know how it turned out.



My arm is healing nicely. I am SO OVER having an arm that doesn't work to its full capacity! :)

Here is a picture

YUMMY!







Next week I am off track for a whole month!!! YAY! I am going to Kentucky to help my sister Pam out. She is going to get a C- section so that her baby girl will be alive when it is born. Pam's baby won't live long. The baby has all sorts of complications & on top of complications she has a Chromosome issue. Mom is not here to help out with these things, so I thought I would help out as much I could.

Crash=stitches

Last week I thought I would be adventurous so I went dirt biking with a teacher friend of mine. I was having a blast until....DUN, DUN, DUN......I fell off the bike!! There was a tight corner coming up, I didn't see it until it was too late!!! I down shifted as soon as I saw the corner, but I got caught in the sand. Sand = slippery and dusty which makes you eat the ground hard and fast!
My bike ended up sliding, I didn't even know I was falling until I was hitting the ground. It all happened so fast.
I did a superman fall. My leg was under the bike and the rest of my body was on the ground. It felt like when you fall off a skateboard or a regular bike fall. Fun, Fun.
As I was looking through the holes in my shirt I saw a mountain of skin. I thought I had a bunch of rocks under my skin. Little did I know that I was highly mistaken. I rode the bike back after holding my arm for a bit. It hurt! It felt like my arm got the wind knocked out of it. I had to ride all the way back to our starting area to clean my arm. My arm was stinging the entire way back. We all got back to the car and assessed the damage. I had this feeling like I needed to see a doctor and not stay and clean my arm up myself. I ended up going to the instacare in Orem. I was lucky I didn't break anything nor get burned. I was wearing Josh's moto gear. I have to buy Josh a new shirt. The shirt had 3 holes and blood all over it! :)
The end result of my arm is that there was little dirt in my arm. My fat from my arm was the rocks, and I have 10-12 stitches. I am happy that my injury wasn't worse. The doctor who sewed me up lived in Laie for 2 years in the 70's. Laie sure brings many people together.
Life is, oh so interesting.

Here are some pictures BEFORE:





AFTER: about 3 months later...

Family Reunions...what can I say!

Reunions can be boring/lame OR the BEST part of your life!
I think reunions are the highlight of my life! I love my family and I am so blessed to have the sisters I have!
Growing up in Hawaii my family was sort of left out of the reunions and getting to know my moms side of the family.
I am very blessed because I have the best Hawaii family! You guys rock!!! I'm so glad that I grew up with you!
Hawaii Ohana fo life! :)

I now know many of my cousins so it is fun to go the the reunions. I now try every year to go to my mom's family reunion (Pond). I really enjoy going to this reunion. It is the only extended family I have. This year I was in charge of the crafts and I really enjoyed it! We made cool t-shirts, airplanes, colored sippie cups, etc. Fun, Fun! I camped at Hyrum state park for 6 days with NO makeup!!! That is a miracle for me! :)
Here are some pictures.











Alonzo and Helen






Tami and Helen


Dad, Mel, and Anastasia











Josh, Koali Hanohano and Koali's baby- That is not Josh's baby...but Koali is pregnant with Josh's kid. Koali is the granddaughter of Mr. K (4th grade Laie Elem). Her grandma is the lunch ticket lady! Small world!







I also can wake board now!!! I hopefully can post the video. :)