Advents Corner

Need a reason for that glass of wine at dinner other than you are an adult and you want it?  How about the fact that it is packed with antioxidant that’s right, it is good for you.  With five servings of fruits and vegetables high in antioxidants can reduce your risk of stroke by 25 percent.  So the next time you want to do something good for your body have a glass of wine with dinner. 

I just had to post this because it is really funny

RETARDED GRANDPARENTS - (this was actually reported by a teacher)  After Christmas, a teacher asked her young pupils how they spent their holiday away from school.  One child wrote the following: We always used to spend the holidays with Grandma and Grandpa.  They used to live in a big brick house but Grandpa got retarded and they moved to

Florida.  Now they live in a tin box and have rocks painted green to look like grass.  They ride around on their bicycles and wear name tags because they don’t know who they are anymore.  They go to a building called a wrecked center, but they must have got it fixed because it is all okay now, they do exercises there, but they don’t do them very well.  There is a swimming pool too, but they all jump up and down in it with hats on.  At their gate, there is a doll house with a little old man sitting in it.  He watches all day so nobody can escape.  Sometimes they sneak out, and go cruising in their golf carts.  Nobody there cooks, they just eat out.  And, they eat the same thing every night — early birds.  Some of the people can’t get out past the man in the doll house.  The ones, who do get out, bring food back to the wrecked center for pot luck.  My Grandma says that Grandpa worked all his life to earn his retardment and says I should work hard so I can be retarded someday too.  When I earn my retardment, I want to be the man in the doll house.  Then I will let people out, so they can visit their grandchildren.  ….  PRICELESS…… 

With Valentine’s Day right around the corner everyone is running around at the last minute to find the perfect gift for that perfect someone.  Well stop looking and start shopping.  Instead of the classic flowers what about a laptop?  Check out this dell coupon and surprise your one and only with a laptop of their very own.

Yesterday we spent most of the day with Don taking Michaela’s picture for her graduation announcements that will go out later this month or next month.  We still can not believe she is only a couple of month away from graduation.  Time passes so fast it is hard to accept it sometimes.  I would be feeling really old right now if I would not have two more behind Michaela.  I can’t believe I have one graduating and one in diapers.  It is funny how your life puts you in places a few years ago you would not have imagined you would be in.

I knew it was bad but was not too sure how bad until it came time for my employee performance evaluation. I was brought into the room and told even though my performance is always stellar the company has put a freeze on all increases until we “get over this hump”. I was also told that I am at the top of my pay scale so other than the cost of living increases I would not be getting anymore raises. Way to bust a bubble right, especially considering I am not even getting the cost of living increase because of the freeze. I was given the consolation prize that when the freeze is lifted the increase would be retro active. I should not complain, I make really good money but it is just dishearten to think that no matter how good I am at my job will not make more than what I am making now.

This morning there was a shooting at Louisiana Technical  College in Baton Rouge.  According to reports a woman shot two other women before turning the gun on herself inside one of the classrooms.  No further details are known at this time.

Namco Bandai says it is because of the Wii that they are shutting arcades through out Japan.  People are saving their pocket change to buy games for the Wii verses spending it in the arcade.  We have a Wii and it is so much fun.  Talk about a family gaming system.  When my in laws were in for Christmas we spent many nights all bowling on the Wii. 

Sorry about that but we had a server problem with the sites last night and most of this morning.  We are back online now.

Finally someone has said what we have always known as Mommies, when you are pregnant your baby sucks out your brain cells.  OK maybe not but they do make us more forgetful.  We have known this for years that when you are pregnant you tend to forget things more easily.  Now it has been confirmed through medical studies that pregnant women tend to forget things when they are involved in multitasking or unfamiliar things.

We use to think that once we had the baby that our memory would come back but they now suspect that the forgetfulness can last up to one year.  Do you think that might have something to do with being tired for all of the sleepless nights? 

The Race for DelegatesDemocrats Needed to Win = 2,025

Candidate      Pledged       Superdels      Total

Clinton         632              193          825

Obama         626              106          732

Republicans Needed to Win = 1,191

Candidate      Pledged         Unpl. RNC    Total

McCain          598                17          615

Romney        259                  9          268

Huckabee     166                  3          169

Chart from CNN.com 

After super Tuesday this is the way things stack up.  It looks like McCain is the front runner.  It is still a very close race between Clinton and Obama.  My dream ticket would be to see Clinton and McCain.  That will be very hard decision between the two but I think they are the two best candidates.  Only time will tell.

With my blogs getting the smack down from Google I was really concerned about my page rank going from a 3 to a big fat 0.  I also watched my opps for good money fade into the darkness.  One bright light at the end of the tunnel was the introduction of Real Rank.  With Real Rank your Blog Ranks are gathered by using the number of visitors to your site not the index that Google gives it.  Even though my page rank is in the toilet my Real Rank is still good because of the number of visitors to my site daily.  Thanks guys for coming back to Corner everyday to see the craziness in the world.  You can check your weekly average daily so you can stay on top of things on your own terms.

The data is pulled using a piece of code you embed in your blog.  The system uses the following formula to get your Real Rank: 70% daily unique visitors, 20% daily active inbound links and 10% daily page views.  So as you can see it is solely based on your blogs performance and not on some phantom algorithm.  So sign up and get ranked by the traffic of your site not by a toolbar or an algorithm

Last night I tried a new dish.  I am always trying out new things for the family because it gets really old eating the same stuff all of the time.  I have a bad habit of not following recipes, well tweaking recipes I should say.  Matt says “do you have a recipe or you making your own?”  I don’t know why he asks because the answer is always the same.  Last night I decided to try my hand at Cottage Pie.  Matt loves shepherd’s pie; he always gets it when we go to Cheesecake Factory. 

As most of my family knows I love Campbell’s crème of mushroom soup, in fact I buy it by the case at Costco because I use it in everything.  So here is my recipe for Cottage Pie using Campbell’s crème of mushroom soup.

Ingredients  

1 pound ground beef 

1 can Campbell’s crème of mushroom soup

3 large russet potatoes 1 cups mix vegetables or 2 handfuls ( I used a frozen medley that had peas, carrots, green beans, lima beans and corn)ButterMilk

Hawaiian

Sea Salt½ cup shredded cheese 

Peel and cut your potatoes into cubes, add a little salt and put to boil.  Cook ground beef and drain away excess fat.  While the beef is draining add can of soup and ½ cup water to the pot.  Constantly stir until all of the soup is dissolved.  Add your beef and vegetables into your soup mixture.  Turn to simmer and leave uncovered.  Because of the soup you do not need to add any seasoning to the beef mixture. 

Pre heat your oven to 350. 

Drain your potatoes, add butter, milk, and whip until you reach the desired consistency.  After your beef mixture has reduced down to the amount of gravy you would like pour into a casserole dish.  Place your potatoes on the top and add cheese.   

Bake for about 20 minutes or until cheese is melted.  Everything is hot when you put it into the dish so you only need to worry about the cheese melting.   

I hope you like the recipe, my family loved it, and Michaela even ate all of the vegetables without picking any out.

Again,

Florida is in the news because of an idiot.  This is why we have such a bad rep here because the state is full of idiots.  This mother of the year buckled in her case of beer but failed to buckle in her infant daughter she had in the backseat.  Thank goodness police noticed her erratic driving and puller her over only to find her baby was not fastened in. 

Because of this mom I have added a new categories entitled “Idiots”

DAVE MATTHEWS JOINS JACK JOHNSON AT THE FIFTH ANNUAL KOKUA FESTIVAL APRIL 19th-20th - WAIKIKI SHELL - OAHUHawaii’s own Jack Johnson is proud to share the stage with Dave Matthews at the Fifth Annual Kokua Festival on Earth Day weekend – April 19th and 20th, 2008 – at the Waikiki Shell in Honolulu, Hawaii. For his first Hawaii appearance ever, Dave Matthews will be performing an acoustic set with guitar master Tim Reynolds. The festival’s incredible music line-up will be rounded out with local island favorites Paula Fuga and Go Jimmy Go, and Brushfire Records’ latest addition, the Hawaii-born, Minneapolis-based Mason Jennings.All proceeds go to the Kokua Hawaii Foundation, a non-profit organization founded by Jack and Kim Johnson to support environmental education programs in the schools and communities of Hawaii. The funds raised from the Kokua Festival will be used to further support school recycling on Oahu, sponsor field trips, and roll out the new farm-to-school program AINA In Schools. The foundation is excited to be expanding its community outreach with a sustainability film series and the new Plastic Free Haleiwa coalition.In celebration of the Kokua Hawaii Foundation and Kokua Festival’s 5th anniversary, two new projects have been added to inspire environmental action among Hawaii’s students. School groups completing outstanding Kokua Earth Action Projects (KEAP) this school year have been invited to the Keiki Kokua Festival. This keiki (children) only celebration will recognize student efforts to malama (care for) our islands with entertainment by Jack Johnson and other Kokua Festival artists, educational skits, videos and exchanges from participating KEAP school groups.In addition to the eclectic mix of live music, the Kokua Village lets fans experience eco-friendly clothing from Patagonia, sustainable shoes from Simple Shoes, and organic yogurt from Stonyfield Farm. Kokua Festival attendees can try local food and beverages, learn about products and services from green companies, view alternative energy demonstrations, participate in interactive games and crafts for the kids, and get information about environmentally active groups from around the islands.The Kokua Festival has raised the bar on environmentally friendly concert production both locally and globally. Some of the innovative greening measures include: Zero waste collection sites where recyclables, food waste and compostables are separated by students from local schools A bike valet service, electric trolley, and carpool incentives Promoting the use of reusable water bottles and providing free water stations Running festival generators and vehicles on locally made biodiesel Using biodegradable concession ware Offering eco-friendly merchandise such as reusable tote bags, bottles, and organic cotton clothing Offsetting the remaining emissions with clean energy development in Hawaii The Kokua Festival concert and behind-the-scenes footage will be broadcast live with a major online partner, and an hour long special will be made for television. Tickets are $40 for general admission/lawn, $50 for reserved seats, $125 in the seated pit area, and $20 general admission for children 3-12. Children under 3 are free. New this year, online ticket purchasers will have the option to add on $2 to offset their own personal travel to the show. Tickets to the general public will be available at all Ticketmaster outlets, online at Ticketmaster or by phone at (877) 750-4400 on February 16th. Starting February 4th, STAR 101.9 listeners will be offered pre-sale opportunities. The Kokua Hawaii Foundation thanks Presenting Partners Patagonia, Simple, and Stonyfield Farm; Platinum Partners Bonterra / Fetzer Organic Wines, Brushfire Records, Kashi, Kona Brewing Company, MapCargo, and Toyota Prius Hawaii; and Keiki Partners Bear Naked Granola, FruitaBu Organic Smooshed Fruit, Hawaiian Electric Company, SIGG, and Stretch Island Fruit, as well as many other like-minded companies and organizations for their support! The Kokua Festival is produced locally by Pau Hana Productions with additional coordination by MusicMatters.

It is all about marketing.  Would you buy toilet paper named Sandpaper?  How about a soft drink called diarrhea?  How about a bed called Lolita for your 6 year old?  I know my two examples were extreme but one mother thought the name of a bed marketed to 6 year old girls was extreme also.  Woolworths had a bed online that was geared towards little girls and when a Mom discovered the name of the bed was “Lolita” she fired off postings on a parenting site.  Once Woolworths found out about it they immediately pulled the beds off of the website.  According to Woolworths they had no idea the word was used to describe sexually active pre-teens.  I guess we can give credit to a giant corporation for finally putting people before money.

This was too awesome I had to share it.  Pepsico had a commercial during the Superbowl last night that was the best Superbowl commercial of the night and possibly the best one I have seen.  There is a joke in the deaf community that it, if you don’t know which house you are going to honk the horn and the one that does not turn on the lights is the one you are going too.  I hope the deaf community does appreciate this commercial and no one was offended.  I have posted the commercial and below it is some information on why it was produced.  Please watch both of them and gain a little knowledge.

These are  interviews with the director and some of the actors from the commercial.

I tore this house up today looking for a stupid ink pen. Why is it when you need something you can never find it and when you don’t there are 1,000 of them lying around everywhere. Tomorrow I am going to buy some ink pens so I do not have this problem again. Michaela has a habit of “using” one but not returning it especially if it is one that is really cool and she likes it.

Sunday, February 3 at 3 PM - OCEAN CONSERVATION FORUM

Hawai’i: Message in the Waves

This is a film from the BBC Natural History Unit looking at some of the environmental challenges facing the people and wildlife of the Hawaiian Islands. The film also includes an interview with Hawai’i’s Jack Johnson. Click here for more info.

‘AINA IS Cookbook V.1 is here!

Visit the Kokua Hawai’i Foundation store to order your copy today!

Kokua Art Contest Time!

Student entries are due February 29.

Stop Stryrofoam!
Learn about and support State legislation to ban Styrofoam food service containers in Hawai’i. Go to stopstyrofoamhawaii.org. (Graphic from Stop Styrofoam Hawaii)

Plastic Free Hale’iwa CampaignThe Kokua Hawai’i Foundation is excited to be partnering with several Hale’iwa business owners on a new community project. 2008 will see the launch of Plastic Free Halei’wa, a community driven campaign that strives to educate stores, restaurants and patrons of Hale’iwa Town on the environmental and health benefits of going plastic free in order to minimize the consumption and pollution of plastics in our islands. Our goal is to minimize the use of single use plastic items such as plastic bags, food take-out containers (including Styrofoam), plastic utensils, and water bottles. There are several cost effective alternatives to single-use plastics including reusable bags and bottles, compostable bags and foodwares. Let’s make Hale’iwa Town a successful example of how to go Plastic Free. By working together we can make a difference for our neighborhood, island and world. If you would like more information on going Plastic Free please click here. To join us in this effort, please email us. The film we are showing at 3pm this Sunday, Message in the Waves, inspired towns in the UK to become plastic shopping bag free. See the highlights of the month for more info. regarding Message in The Waves.

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 Hawai’i Foundation Members Pre-sale February 9th - Kokua Festival & STAR 101.9 Beach Clean-Ups February 10th & 11th - STAR 101.9 Beach Clean-Up Pre-Sale February 16th - General Kokua Festival Ticket Sale Please visit the kokuafestival.com starting February 4th for more information.

Kokua Festival & STAR 101.9 Beach Clean-ups!
New this year! The Kokua Hawai’i Foundation will be joining forces with STAR 101.9 to make a difference on O’ahu’s beaches. Everyone who participates in these clean-ups will be entered to win a free pair of tickets and will all receive a unique password that will give access, through the STAR 101.9 website, to purchase tickets during their pre-sale event. Check out our calendar for more information.

We need to go to the bank this weekend and try and fix Michaela’s checking account. She had a little run in with NSF charges. It is her first account and you learn from mistakes. It was an innocent mistake but it still got her account closed. She deposited her check and went shopping but they put her hold on her paycheck and she did not realize it. So as she bought stuff they paid the charge but then charged her an NSF fee so her account went negative really fast.