Weekend Warrior’s Kai

Spent the whole Saturday helping out Karan with a painting project. My main responsibility was to prep the job site – and I have taped enough that if I see another blue painter’s tape, I would get a nightmare.

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The Weekend Warrior Crew taking a break- Jordan, Vishad, Sundar, Joni, Karan and myself.

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Deserve one more shot. Joni, look here.

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Perfect

Since the job site has a fenced yard, so I set up a play day for my dog.

“Soup (Jordan’s dog), meet Kai. Kai, meet soup.”

Since Kai usually makes friends with any dog and would play until the sun goes down, I had full confidence that this play day would be a success.

I left Kai and Soup in the fence yard and thought they would have a blast hanging out together for the whole afternoon.

Boy, was I wrong.

The second I closed the gate, Kai started barking! He wanted out of the fenced yard. I was surprised!

Soup was pretty chill, just hanging around.

Okay! I went back to the yard, to comfort Kai and to ensure him that he was at a safe place and I wouldn’t be far from him.

I stepped out of the fenced yard. Kai started barking.

Kai sure was determined to have his voice heard. Have you heard of non-stop LOUD dog bark? It was pretty annoying! :ohscold:

After spending one hour comforting Kai. I gave up. I told myself that he would just have to learn on his own. I let him bark and bark, and BARK, and B A R K!!!

Jordan tried working his Dog Whisperer magic. Didn’t work.

Karan tried using his Super Dad power. Didn’t work.

Imagine this, you child is the only child who throws himself on the floor, howling non-stop in the day care.

Felt like a failed parent, embarrassed, I couldn’t focus on my painting job.

Karan let the dogs in the house and finally Kai was at peace. He loves being with humans.

But then, watching Kai and Soup doing house inspection – sniffing the dry walls, paint trays loaded with paint, etc…, freaked me out! :ohafraid: I’ve heard horrible stories about dogs getting sick after smelling the paint fume.

After an hour of worrying, I’ve had enough. I led the dogs to the front yard and chained them there. I made sure Kai didn’t feel like he was confined. This time, no barks. HALLELUJAH! HURRAY! PRAISE THE LORD!

At the same time, I felt exhausted and somehow defeated. :ohgraycloud:

I kept doubting myself,”Do I really know how to raise a pet? When did Kai become such a mama’s cry baby? ”

“If I can’t raise a pet properly, how can I raise a child?”

At night, I gave Kai a bath in the bathtub. He was as calm and sweet as always at home.

Suddenly, a thought hit me. I remembered how nervous I was on my first day to school. I kept looking outside to see if the familiar face was still there. I didn’t know anyone in the class. I hid my crying face in my school bag.

Was Kai feeling as insecure and nervous as I was first day in school when I left him in the fenced yard?

I remembered that on the third day I adopted him, I left him in my office when I needed to get something from the printer. He put his paws up on the glass door and cried for me. :ohbluecry:

Today, I expected him to behave like an adult. Did I not notice that he is still the same baby four years ago?

A pet is definitely a reflection of its owner.

I have always treated him like a child and perhaps have never wanted him to grow up. How can I expect him to be obedient when I have never wanted him to be too obedient and enjoyed his occasionally rebellious behavior?

He doesn’t know any better than just loving his owner back.

A weekend warrior is ending her night immersing in an ocean of love (Kai means ocean in Hawaiian).

Smoothie Smooch

I am the type of girl who needs eight hours of sleep every night and will wait till the last second to roll out of bed every morning. :rtwakeup:

As you can imagine, my work day morning routine is never calm and peaceful. I am always running after time. Get up, take shower, get ready, feed the dog, etc. It has always been my fantasy to get up early and enjoy a proper breakfast at home before heading out to work.

So, how can I have nutritious but super easy breakfast every morning?

Hmm…

It’s gotta be a smoothie, hands down. :kehappy:

For a super fresh smoothie, I usually make it in the morning and take it to work. If I feel like I want to take it easy the next morning, then I make the smoothie the night before. It’s still way much fresher than the store bought version!

I’ve never checked out any smoothie recipes. I made my first smoothie my way and it worked for me. So, I have been just experimenting on my own. You are welcome to share your favorite recipes with me. 🙂

Here’s the simplest smoothie recipe from me. (Note: I don’t measure, I just eyeball. So, always add/subtract based on your preference.)

IMG_5038_m ~ 1 ripe banana
~ a handful of strawberries
~ 1 cup of yogurt
~ 3-4 dates (natural sweetener, optional)
~ electric hand blender

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1. Clean and cut the fruits (chunky cut is fine, doesn’t have to be perfect, since they will be blended in the blender!)

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2. Combine all ingredients, blend until smooth

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3. Done! (no kidding!)

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Optional: Garnish with raspberries. Sprinkle granola on top.

This is enough for 2 people plus little extra for an afternoon snack! I always keep a bowl of granola with me in the office. Granola goes well with smoothie and it’s substantial that will keep me full past breakfast.

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Pack and go

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Sambazon’s Acai puree is now available at Everybody’s.

I love my electric hand-blender (Braun 300 watts). It’s easy to clean and it’s portable. I take it with me when I go on trips. 🙂

Now, are you ready to make your first smoothie?

If summer is not the season to have smoothies, I don’t know when! A lot of fruits are and will be in season. Be sure to experiment with different combinations. If there’s any combination that you don’t enjoy, big deal, just take note and modify the recipe next time.

Some ideas:
~ milled flax seeds

~ tropical theme – pineapple, mango, papaya, coconut

~ allergy to dairy – how about substitute it with cracked ice

~ frozen banana and fruits

~ milk

~ honey as sweetener

~ juices: blueberry juice, orange juices, cranberry ,etc

The possibilities are endless! Explore and discover your favorites.

Sunset on Banzai Pipeline Beach

We drove up to North Shore for a sunset shoot today.

We didn’t have any particular destination in mind. Our plan was to drive along the coastline on the curvy Kamehameha Highway until we found a good location.

We stopped by couple beaches and they didn’t really work out for us. We kept on driving, and passed by the very tip of North Shore. We saw some cars parked by the roadside indicating that there was a beach although there wasn’t any sign indicating which beach it was.

This beach was no ordinary beach. The waves were no ordinary waves!!

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See what I mean?

I have never seen such rough water. The hollow barrel-like shape of waves were enormous and fierce. Since the waves were very close to the shore, I could feel the energy of the powerful waves pounding on the beach and I could smell the saltwater.

“What beach is this?” I asked someone

“Pipeline.”

OMG. This is THE famous Ehukai beach, also known as Banzai Pipeline beach. It’s named Pipeline for a reason! Look at the enormous tubular waves!

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Guess what? I was told that these waves were actually baby waves. In winter, the waves could be of thunderous 30-foot or more! No wonder this place attracts the the world’s most daring surfers.

The beach community here is friendly. This is where the locals stay. I didn’t see many tourists here.

Ladies, feast your eyes with dark chocolate “brownies” who have tattoos on their back, arms and legs.

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Tattoos are quite common here and there are no shortage of tattoo parlors. My feeling is that if I live on Hawaii long enough, I will end up getting one or two tattoos.

I am not trying to discriminate, but the North Shore surfers seem to have more characters than the Waikiki surfers. The surfers here have a sense of pride. Of course! You better have some serious surfing skills in order to surf here. You have to be the daredevil whose adrenalin rushes when surfing next to waves that are double/triple/quadruple/++ your height.

For a nonsurfer like me, I joined the spectators on the beach watching the surfers working the waves. The waves were pretty close to the shore, so I could appreciate the surfers up close. :rtdance3:

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If you really have to bring your kids with you, please keep them contained in a safe area. They can always play with the sand.

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Unless, they were born of Hawaiian Water God. Then, you can let them loose, and let them throw themselves into their papa waves over and over and over.

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I watched these local kids playing in the waves that were at least twice their height. They were unbelivable in water. They knew exactly how to handle the water. Their parents just sat on the beach, chatting and laughing, didn’t seem concerned at all.

I wonder if the lifeguard had to count the number of kids on the beach every five minutes, just to make sure.

Although the water was quite rough, it was incredibly clear. It’s definitely a good swimming spot when the water is not so rough during summer months.

R & K picked a couple spots for the shoot. The sunset was gorgeous.

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What is the most romantic thing to do on the beach?

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There was an Asian guy starting a hipachi grill on the beach while watching sunset. Awwww…! :rtlove: Now, that’s romantic! (No, he is not single. His girlfriend was next to him.)

If you are visiting Oahu (especially in winter), remember to stop by here! There might not hipachi, but the spectacular waves will be here!

Check out more photos by clicking on the album cover below.

Sunset on Banzai Pipeline Beach