Monday, January 30, 2012

Today's Reminder


What a lovely message. Thanks to my late night/early morning cruise through pinterest, I found this.

Have a fabulous day everyone!

Friday, January 27, 2012

5 Weekend To-Do's

To-Do #1: USS MISSOURI is supposed to be free on Saturday, 1/28/2012 for Kama'aina. My father went there on a department retreat for his job and he said it was a really good tour. Normally, entrance with tours costs about $65. It's on my TO-DO list!!

To-Do #2: BEACH, BEACH, BEACH. The weather man is forecasting rain, rain, rain but the past couple of days have been gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous. Hot and humid days, no trade winds... that spells out BEACH DAY for me.

To-Do #3: Homework. I am busting my butt to complete this Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy. My last course begins in February. I'll be done by April. I can hardly believe it!!

To-Do #4: Yard Attention. I need to pay attention to our yard. I've been trying for months to start my herb and vegetable garden. Since the beginning of the year, my popps and I have been juicing. This has prompted me to save a few bucks by raising our own vegetables and herbs for the purpose of consumption.

To-Do #5: I'm getting one monkey off my back. I am going to almost completely eliminate my BEST BUY Credit Card debt. I'm so excited! By Summer, I will be debt free aside from my car and a few student loans. Yayyyy for husband and I.

Have an awesome weekend everybody!!

HB1710 / HB1711

I think Florida was the first state to require drug testing for welfare recipients.

Hawaii is conducting an informational briefing in regards to the following:

HB1710 - Requires applicants and recipients of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families cash benefits to submit to drug testing when reasonable cause exists indicating illegal drug use. Establishes ineligibility to receive benefits for one year for testing positive or refusing to submit to drug testing

HB1711 - Requires drug testing for temporary assistance for needy families (TANF) applicants. Provides that applicants who test positive for a controlled substance may receive TANF funds upon the successful completion of a 6-month substance abuse program

I think it's a fantastic idea considering the fact that welfare funds are furnished by Mr. & Mrs. TaxPayer. Some people make a lifestyle of relying on the welfare system to live. I surely don't want to support or encourage that type of lifestyle.

Within the 5 minutes it took me to write this, the hearing has been cancelled. Go figure!

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Heart.... Breaking... Again.

I think my heart is breaking....

Talk of moving off the island again.

This time, I don't wanna go.

I don't.

I feel like this island that I love so much is also the curse for my marriage. The first marriage ended in divorce. One of the issues was "demographics"... where we would live. Marriage #2 is going in the same direction.

The crazy thing is, we've done the mainland thing... twice.

I can be alone if that is my destiny.

My heart is breaking.
I feel so all alone.

I just can't move again. I don't have the heart.

I miss my mother. I feel like my heart is on the floor and I'm so sad... wishing she were around to tell me what I'm supposed to do. I already know but I need to hear her say it to me. Tell me to follow my husband. **heavy sigh**

I wish I could start all over again. I wish I were a child. Oh how I would do things differently.

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Extreme....ly TIRED of CONSUMERISM


I just started tuning in to TLC's Extreme Couponing and Extreme Cheapskates. I am completely amazed by how much money people save by using coupons. Extreme Cheapskates shows people who go to "extremes" to save a buck.

Who would have thought that would be inspiring?

It is.

I'm totally inspired to reduce consumption even though I'm such a toy-junkie. I love electronic toys. In my case, that would be my Apple/Mac products, my Nikon D5000 that I'm thinking about selling to upgrade to a Canon camera. The software that goes with the camera and picture editing; the software for my computers. The xbox and Nintendo Wii. I have a lot of toys. Do I really need all those things? I don't think I'm going to be unloading any of my electronics yet but I'm going to stop acquiring them. I don't need an iPhone. I don't need a new iMac. I don't need a new Macbook Pro. I'm dying to have a new camera but I don't need it.

I have a slew of books that I could get rid of. Should I? If there's anything that I drag around with me all the time, it's my books and my journals. **sigh**

I'm just tired of CONSUMING......

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Photo Credit

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Beef Hangover and Other Ramblings

I ate a hamburger yesterday. Today I'm paying for it! Trust me, this just does not look appetizing to me. Yuck!!


I have found that I have an allergy to beef (as well as gluten). Can you believe that? Beef happens to be one of my favorite things in the whole wide world. I read Eat Right 4 Your Blood Type a couple of years ago. As soon as I read it, I went veggie for a whole year. Well, semi-veggie. Apparently A+ people should follow a plant-based diet but I had to reintroduce chicken and fish after a couple months because I felt so weak.

Since the New Year, I've been juicing regularly. My father has suffered from leg cramps for quite some time and he was interested in juicing as well. Husband is DOWN for whatever I put in front of him. I drink about 16 oz of juice prior to a meal or as a meal replacement. In the mornings I usually have fresh juice (celery, carrots, apples, ginger, peppers), 2 bananas, and at least a cup and a half of raw nuts.

Lunch consists of maybe brown rice and tomato chutney. I love that meal. It is always so satisfying and so delicious. I can put together a really good tomato chutney in about 30 minutes. It is one of my faves.

Dinner is usually a protein and a veggie, if I can help it. Usually I splurge on any cravings during dinner. The other night I made spaghetti. Anybody who knows me knows that I prefer my homemade sauce over any canned prego or ragu or del monte sauce. It takes a good 3 hours to make the sauce. 1 hour of prep time and 2 hours of simmer time. It's better if you simmer longer but who has time? Next time I'll start it in the morning and crock pot it all day. The sauce can be used for lasagna and any other dish requiring a red sauce. So dinner is usually my splurge.

To take care of my beef hangover this morning, I am reduced to taking migraine medication, a cup of stiff, hot coffee, and a healthy 30 minutes of YOGA. If there's anything that I love for fitness, it's yoga. Since I'm such a novice at yoga I'm super grateful for my favorite dvd, Biggest Loser Yoga. Bob makes it simple. (Thanks Bob!!) His instructions and demonstrations are clear and so helpful. As much as I love high intensity things like Insanity, I really prefer the slow and methodical moves of yoga. It's challenging but so relaxing.

I'm feeling better. The pain killers are kicking in due to my combo of meds, coffee, and yoga. I can't say which is the most effective remedy. All I know is I'm feeling better and am recommitting to staying away from that red flesh.

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Photo Credit
Biggest Loser Photo Credit

Thursday, January 19, 2012

PHOTO BLOG: My Home

Such an interesting tree; the sky was a perfect backdrop as well as the ocean.



I love to see fisherman out and about. It lets me know that the ocean still teems with life.

early evening: such a beautiful time of the day

the color of the grass is so mesmerizing

rocks that are normally underwater are fully exposed... beautiful!


i just love that patch of coconut trees.


walking the reef reminds me of my momz who used to take us out all the time.

Monday, January 16, 2012

Dear Blog

Dear Blog,

I miss you so much. I hate that I never have the time to sit down and talk about the stuff that goes on in my world.

I promise I will make time for you beginning in April. School will finally be over in April and I will have received my Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy. I can hardly believe that I am finally done with school. It's one of those things that was on my bucket list and since I had access to funds to supplement my schooling due to my Hawaiian ancestry, I figured, "why not"?

I promise to make you over... after April.

I promise to write more and think less.

I wish oh how I wish there weren't student loans attached to the Bachelor of Arts degree but such is life. If I could, I would have probably prolonged the schooling just to delay having to pay the loans back but I am just so sick of school. This has to be the biggest scam in the history of the United States next to the Internal Revenue Service and insurance.

**heavy sigh**

I'm so close to being done that I can actually see light at the end of the tunnel. At the same time, I'm so burnt out.

Arguing about Aristotle and Rousseau, Communism vs. Capitalism... all of it just has me in a complete tizzy.

See you soon.

Sincerely,

NeenaLove



Sunday, January 08, 2012

Thinking Ever Thinking

So much of my time is spent contemplating the world and my existence in it. What is my great contribution to the world and the people around me? I remember someone saying, in an address to young people, that we should attempt to write our own eulogy so as to know how to pattern our lives.

I think of my mother whom I lost in June of 2011. I can only remember all the good things about her. I bless the day she birthed me because in that day she wished God's choicest blessings upon me. I think of her now in heavenly splendor. Perfect. Having truly given all that she could to ensure that I were a benefit to the world.... that I were a bright light in the darkness.

What will be said of me in death?

Am I, figuratively speaking, a light in the darkness of night?

I raise these questions now as I am moving ever closer to the ending of my studies toward my Bachelors of Arts degree in Philosophy. I am in the 400 level courses and find myself contemplating what I have learned in terms of philosophy. Probably what I love most is that I have studied all types of thought processes. Each discussion seeks to answer one supreme question: WHO.AM.I?

WHO ARE YOU?

i am

i am a

i am a wife

a daughter
a sister
an aunt
a cousin
a good friend

i am you.
i am me.
i am the universe.

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Photo Credit

Monday, January 02, 2012

2012=HEALTH for Me

There's a funny thing that happens at the end of the year.... we feel the need to change and to make those resolutions. I like to think that I do it on a weekly basis. I am pretty good about decluttering. I do it often enough to be a regular on the donations pick-up route by the Kidney Foundation and the Boys & Girls Club.

I am dedicating 2012 to rethinking and redoing my approach to health. I know a lot about health. I need to be about it and improve the quality of my life now and in the future. I am letting this Jennifer Hudson/Weight Watchers ad be my inspiration!




Another inspiration for 2012 is this blog:
A Black Girl's Guide to Weight Loss

Keep me accountable.
Today, I start this journey at a whopping 265 pounds. I'm so comfortable in my own skin that, at first, weight loss wasn't for cosmetic reasons. It was for health. Since I seen the Jennifer Hudson commercial above... I'm inspired to look better and be healthier.