It’s been 5 days since my carpal tunnel surgery and I can type again! It’s still difficult though because of the boxing-glove sized bandage on my hand, but I manage. You know what they say, “when there’s a will, there’s a way”.

Hubby has been really great these past few days. Not only has he been working in the yard, he’s also been taking care of Kamalani and when he’s done outside, he comes in to cook dinner. Luckily, I sort of planned for this week when I did my last grocery
shopping. Remember the meats I brought out for Meg’s BBQ? Well, guess what we’ve been having for dinner since that night? So, I kinda made it easy for hubby to “cook” dinner this week.

He offers to make my plate at each meal, but I’m not used to being served even if I secretly complain about never being served. It’s just that I’m not accustomed to it. Imagine that! I feel badly about having him do all the things that I normally do and why is that? I mean, these are things that I do on a daily basis and no one even thinks twice about it, yet I feel guilty if other people (hubby) wants to make my plate for dinner. I need to get over this, right? I should enjoy it while I can, right? My mind says “RIGHT” but something inside me, buried not too deeply either says, “Do it yourself”.

Today was the last day to use snow tires. Hubby was working in the yard and I didn’t want t bother him with having to take the van to have the tires changed out, so I volunteered to do it. I think I pulled something in my hand when I tried to lift the brake to release it. I might need to take a pain pill later. I’m trying to work my hand as much as I can so it won’t get stiff on me after they remove the bandage. Plus I’ve always been told that it’ll heal faster. Sometimes though I need to remember not to overdo it. I have a problem with not overdoing things sometimes.

While we were at the tire shop, I walked Kamalani across the street to the farmer’s general store and there was a sign on the door announcing the arrival of baby chicks. So we went into the store and asked the sales clerk about the chicks, she directed us to the back of the warehouse and there it was - - two barrels full of cute little baby chicks. Kamalani has never seen them live so she was very excited. One of the warehouse workers came over to us and picked up a chick for Kamalani to pet. At first the chick flapped it’s wing and it scared her a little but after the worker arranged the chick in his hand, he told her it would be okay so she got to pet the chick. Then he told us to come back next week because they’ll have baby duckies. I promised to take her back next week. This is such a small town with it’s small town charm. For me, it’s the next best thing to Hawaii.

Hubby just announced that we should have breakfast for dinner. I’m not sure if that means Cap’n Crunch or Spam & Eggs. heh heh

Yesterday was my daughter’s birthday.  My baby’s birthday.  She’s twenty-one.
You’d think it be cause for celebration but what can she do at twenty-one that she hasn’t already done at twenty? Nineteen? Eighteen? Or even fourteen?

When we lived in Japan, she was allowed into the clubs at 18 years old.  When she moved into her own apartment, she went to local “drinking establishments” with her friends.  Sad to say, they didn’t even card her.  But now that she’s at the legal drinking age, it seems like another weekend.  There’s nothing special about it.

Why are kids in a rush to grow up?  I used to tell all of my kids to enjoy their childhoods.  Nevermind if other kids were doing adult stuff, they’ll have the rest of their lives to worry about their love life, family life, career life and if they can scrape up enough money to buy a pack of cigarettes.  Did they listen?  I think you already know the answer to that.

I think Meg has missed out on feeling excited about many milestones in her life because she has always wanted to be the “first” to do this or that.  I know that it’s not just her, I see it in her generation.  Most kids want to rush to become adults and when they finally get there, they wish they could return to a life of living carefree - the life of a child.  Too late for that though.

A few weeks ago she told me that she and a friend of hers were going to have a BBQ at the city beach to celebrate their birthdays (both were born on the 24th).  Lastnight , I ended up taking out ribs and chicken from my freezer so I can marinate them for a BBQ at my house tomorrow.  Their plans flopped.  Maybe they didn’t realize you need to “purchase” food for a barbecue to be successful?  I told her she better be here today so she can help prepare the food.  I’m still waiting.

I took this picture this morning when I looked out of the french door of my bedroom to be greeted by these gorgeous purple flowers. I’m not known to have a green thumb, in fact I’m able to kill silk flowers but last fall I wanted to do something domestic with Kamalani in our new home and this is the result!
click on image for more pics

That’s right, I survived Kamalani’s birthday party at Chuck E Cheeses. There were 13 children present. They had a great time, Chuck E & Staff kept the children entertained and Kamalani was especially happy that she got so many Bratz dolls.

I don’t remember which t.v. show I was watching but there was a mother who did special things with her children on their birthdays. She threw parties but not the type that kids have grown to expect. Rather than inviting a bunch of kids to pig out on cake and ice cream she had them do creative activities then later they drove to a Senior home and presented the art to the elderly people. How friggen special is that, right? I told Kamalani we should do something similar on her next birthdays too. Maybe make some artwork for the pediatric ward at a local hospital or something. I don’t know, just something that will make her understand how fortunate we are to celebrate our healthy lives.

I don’t think I have to tell anyone that she gave me a look that said, “HULLO grams! Have you finally snapped?” She’s only 6 years old afterall, I think that was way above her head but it’s the thought that counts, yeah?

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Lately I’ve been doing very little around the house while my hubby tries to motivate himself to go out and work on the yard. First off, the weather has been weird so I tell him not to stress too much if he can’t do something outside. Really, I can’t stand the cold, makes one wonder why I chose to live in Washington of all places, don’t it?

I scanned the TV schedule to see what was on for tonight. There are only a few shows that I’ll watch religiously and those include American Idol, Desperate Housewives, Grey’s Anatomy, ALL 3 CSIs, NCIS, Without a Trace, Cold Case, Criminal Minds and The Shield. However, I saw the previews of Wife Swap so I watched that tonight.

I find it hard to believe there are families out there that are so out of touch with reality. Take for instance tonight’s episode of Wife Swap. One of the wives home schooled her kids which I don’t have a problem with. I home-schooled all four of my kids for a year and I’ll never do that again. This family didn’t have a home phone and their kids didn’t socialize with other children. The son said he has friends, then named his dogs. uh hello?? It was pitiful when their teenaged daughter didn’t even know their area code. The father is home only on weekends and when he is home, his role is that of a medieval King. How strange is that? I don’t know if the medieval family knows that cooking a medieval feast on an electric stove isn’t medievalish at all.

I was at my brother’s apartment last week and he was watching Jerry Springer. I thought it was the same episode that I saw before I moved to Japan, 5 years ago. They have the same old hillbillies who don’t know who the father of their babies are or they’re there because their mothers married their boyfriends. Didn’t these people learn anything from previous shows? I’ve told my husband several times that if I ever get a phone call to be a “guest” on that show, I’d kill him first, then ask questions later. I mean don’t these people know it can’t be good news if Jerry’s producers call you to come in. Now if it was Oprah, I’d be there in no time flat. She gives cool gifts and you’ll know you’ve been good and deserving if her producers call you to be a guest on her show.

When my kids were teenagers, my cousin used to tell me that she was going to call all the different shows so that we can get a free trip to whichever state the shows were at and also so she could tell them how rotten all of my kids were. She still has to deal with my oldest son and it’s not an easy task. The thing about her is that I trust her with my kids, she knows how special they are to me. Speaking of my kids, I’m so excited that they’ll be visiting this summer with my grandchildren. I’ll have all four grandchildren for a few days in June. How lucky can I get huh? I can’t wait!