Advents Corner

We are still looking for a new entertainment center to replace the one we have now.  It has glass on the front of it and it is not as much as a problem as it was when Lani was smaller but I was always so afraid she was going to fall into the glass.  We are looking at a lcd mount  I think those are so nice because the equipment is off of the floor and on the wall and you can run the wires behind the wall and you don’t see them.  Maybe with some of our income tax refund we can get them after we get a new vacuum.

Margaret Truman has passed away at the age of 83 after a short illness.  Margaret Truman was the only child of former president Harry S. Truman.  She was a mystery writer who penned books such as Murder at the Opera and non-fiction works which included Letters From Father: The Truman Family’s Personal Correspondence.  Margaret was once quoted saying, “The only thing I ever missed about the White House was having a car and driver.”

I am sure she will be greatly missed.  God bless her family.

The weather is finally starting to warm up in Tampa, thank goodness.  We were in

Louisiana last week and man was it cold.  My Mom kept the house nice and toasty thought with the gas space heaters she has in the house.  She does not have central heat but she has those wall heaters in the living room and down the hall and a space heater in the bathroom so when you go take a bath it is all warm and nice in there.  I was set my towel close to the heater so when I went to dry off my towel was warm, I felt like I was at a spa.  She also has an outdoor kitchen that she has a heater in so you are warm no matter where you go.

Matt’s brother took this picture of us a few months ago and did some work on photoshop with Lani’s shirt. This has to be one my all time favorite photos so I just wanted to share with everyone.

Christian Brandon the son of Marlon Brandon died in Los Angeles from complications with pneumonia.  No funeral plans have been scheduled at this time. 

I just pisses me off to no end that stupid people like this exist in the world.  This idiot used a 100,000 volt stun gun on his 18 month old toddler.  He used it to “make him tough” saying he wanted his son to be the toughest cage fighter there is.  I just can not believe that people can do things like this to little babies.  Lani is 18 months old and I breaks my heart when she falls down, I could not even image if I did something to cause her pain.  This guy got a 4 year sentence but that is not enough.  These “parents” think they can do what they want to their children because they see them as property not as human beings.  I think he should be strung up everyday of his sentence and be zapped.  Not with just a stun gun but with like you see on the action movies where they shock them with the cables hooked up to the batteries, let’s see how tough he gets.

Aloha Kokua Hawaii Foundation supporters,

The 2008 Kokua Festival is fast approaching. We are sharing the following important dates and information so that you don’t miss out on purchasing your Kokua Festival tickets.

February 4th - Kokua Festival lineup and show times will be announced!

February 8th - Kokua Hawaii Foundation Members Pre-sale
An email will be sent around February 4th to Kokua Hawaii Foundation members with information on how to access this pre-sale. Make sure you renew your membership, or become a member, by January 31st to be eligible for this pre-sale. To check your membership status please visit www.kokuahawaiifoundation.org/membership. A word of caution: just because you are on the KHF mailing list and receive our newsletters does not mean you are a member. So please check your membership status today!

February 9th, 10th & 11th - Kokua Festival and STAR 101.9 Beach Clean-Ups and Pre-Sale
New this year! The Kokua Hawaii Foundation will be joining forces with STAR 101.9 to make a difference on Oahu’s beaches. Everyone who participates in these clean-ups will be entered to win a free pair of tickets and will be able to purchase pre-sale tickets to the Kokua Festival. All beach clean-up participants will receive a unique password that will give access, through the STAR 101.9 website, to purchase tickets during their pre-sale event on February 11, 2008. Stay posted! The dates, times, and locations of the beach clean-ups will be announced in our February newsletter.

February 16th - General Kokua Festival Ticket Sale
If you miss out on both of these pre-sales the public ticket sale will take place on Saturday, February 16, 2008 at 9:00 a.m. through all Ticketmaster outlets. Please visit www.kokuafestival.com for more information.

April 19th & 20th - 2008 KOKUA FESTIVAL!

Look for the Kokua Hawaii Foundation February e-newsletter for more details or visit www.kokuahawaiifoundation.org and www.kokuafestival.com. MAHALO FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

My uncle a new car and he was looking at all of the stuff you can add to your car these days.  He was looking at this really neat cool Chrysler 300 accessory.  You put them on the sill of the door and they light up with the name of the car on them.  It was really cool.  He is going to get them in blue because that is his favorite color.

After flight cancellations and flight delays, Lani and I finally made it back home.  We were suppose to get home at 4:30 pm but we did not land in Tampa until 10:40 pm and by the time we got our luggage and made it home and got in bed it was midnight.  We were so tired but of course Lani did amazing.  She is such a good little flyer.  On the flight from Houston to Tampa it was her 20th flight.  She is a seasoned flyer now.

Once again we are talking about home improvement projects.  We desperately need a new faucet in the master shower.  We are looking at the Grohe faucets because if we are going to put money into it we might as well go all the way.  We need to replace the entire kit thought not just the shower head.  The knob that you pull to turn on the faucet and turn to make the water hot and cold is not working right.  It turns off but you have to play with it a little bit to make it not leak which is a pain in the butt.

Heath Ledgerwas found dead in his New York apartment last night.  The 28 year old actor was in movies such as A Knight’s Tale, Brokeback Mountain and more recently the Batman movie The Dark Knight where he played the Joker due to be released later this year.  Found next to the bed were prescription and non prescription sleep aids.  It is reported that after the filming of Batman he was having trouble sleeping.

Our oldest daughter was very upset about this last night, one of her favorite movies is A Knight’s Tale.

This is too funny but make sure you watch it all the way through and it this has not happened to you at least once then you are missing out on something.

I have a friend that is going on a trip to Hilton Head South Carolina. I use to live in

Charleston and it is such a beautiful place. I wish I could go back one day; I will put that on my bucket list. My girlfriend is getting on of those Hilton Head rentals because she said it was cheaper than getting a hotel room and driving onto the island. She is so lucky; I hope she has a great time.

Lani and I are getting ready for our trip to

Louisiana so I had to get down our luggage sets last night.  I am so excited because we are going back home for Greg and Heather’s baby shower so I will get to see a lot of family.  I will also get to see my Grandparent’s which is always nice.  I really miss them and they are getting older.  They have not seen Lani since she was about 4 months old.  Now she is walking around and chattering up a storm so it should be fun.

Now you can watch the video yourself. I want to say the response has turned out really well and this was just the first day after the interview. We have 5 new registers, 3 people have contacted me with their information and we have at about 500 visitors to the site today and that is pretty good. I want thank those who have sent me emails and I want to tell the rest of you not to be shy, I really want to hear from you. Oh and last night when the interviewed air I had to watch it again because when she said it was fish fry night at the local VFW all I could do was think about that fish. Hope you enjoy the video. The website Our Precious Gift, please stop by and visit.

This is so cool. I really don’t care for Valentine’s Day but I know a lot of people celebrate it and think it is so amazing. First of all I don’t believe that the person you love and loves you should tell or show you that only once a year. Number two I don’t like chocolate, never have so it is just a waste to get it for me and I really don’t care for roses. I love daisy. Anyway, if I had to get valentine’s gift this what I would chose. Do you have a favorite picture? You can turn it into a painting, how awesome it that?

Dad sent me an email wishing me good luck with the interview tonight.  I have to say I am very nervous.  I did try and get out of it but she said if I did not appear they could not put the story on air so I have to do it.  I am just not very good at putting myself out there.  I am hoping this gets the word out for the site and it continues to grow.

The name Goldsmith has been a staple in the jewelry industry for 30 years and now they have taken their wonderful selection of jewelry online.  With the opening of their new website, Goldsmith is giving away a beautiful pair of 1 carat diamond stud earrings.

All you have to do is write about their brand new website on your blog and you are registered.  If you do not have a blog don’t worry, you can still check out all of the wonderful jewelry they have available on line.

On Tuesday I started belly dance class again.  I was in it before I got pregnant with Lani but had to stop as soon as I got pregnant due to some complications.  I wanted to get back into it after I had her and that was the plan but do to some personal issues I decided I did not want to go back.  I thought it would be more emotionally draining if I decided to go back than if I did not.  I decided to take a chance and went back on Tuesday.  I loved it so much when I was in it before and I still love it.  I am so out of shape it is crazy.  I forgot what a work out it really is.  My shoulders and upper stomach hurt so badly yesterday.  I decided to go back to the same instructor I had before and she really made me feel welcome.  Thanks Hollie for welcoming me back.

I go once a week on Tuesday’s and it is right down the street from my house.  It is really nice because I can still come home, spend time with Lani, and make dinner before I have to go so I don’t feel like I am taking anything time from anyone and that makes me feel better about it.  Michaela will have to watch Lani for 30 minutes in between the time that I leave and Matt comes home but that is not a big deal.  I was worried I would not remember anything, I am a bit rusty, but I do remember the stuff we were going over. 

Brad Renfro, made famous by the movie The Client, where he played a little boy that was witness to a crime, was found dead in his home on Tuesday.  After his role in The Client Brad dealt with drug and alcohol problems.  His friends say he was working hard to get his sobriety on track and was tired of paying the consequences of his actions.  Brad Renfro was only 25 years old.  The cause of his death is unknown at this time.