Scolding My Mom

I've started to scold my own mom. When did that happen?

She had to have a CAT scan the other day because she was having "serious digestive tract issues" (You really don't wanna know). Apparently she has also been skipping out on her colonoscopy appointments (again you don't wanna know). Now it has become an emergency and she had to do a CAT scan because the appointments for a colonoscopy were backed up for three weeks.

Now, I could be the supportive sweet daughter because she's kinda scared and obsessing about the CAT scan, which is really no big deal - I've had one and it's really quick and painless. But no... What do I do instead? I scold her. Yes - I scold my own mother for not going to get her colonoscopy sooner. I tell her to stop obsessing over the CAT scan because it's not a bad test. Also, that's what she gets for PROCRASTINATING on the colonoscopy.

So the test results came back, and they ruled out cancer and all the other serious diseases, but they're doing more tests and my mom is now complaining about those. I don't get it. I guess I'll just keep scolding her for not being proactive, and she'll keep complaining about having emergency tests. It's an inevitable cycle of BS. The moral for my mother? Get a colonoscopy before your daughter becomes a big pain in the butt.

MG Find of the Day

Let's start a category called "MG Find of the Day," where we post up unusual and WTF things we find... just to share (and laugh)!

My "find" is the FingerFood, a nifty little plate that's perfect for pupus. No more struggling to hold your wine glasses and plate at your next shindig.



I guess if you were really hungry, you could have 10 of them at once...
you just better not clap!

MG Beach Day

MGs enjoyed a nice day at the beach on Saturday with good food, good friends and an exciting tent escapade...


Baby Kailoa gave us all smiles!




While Tyler and Ayden hit the beach!








It was a great day! We should do it more often!

Proof That Anyone Can Paddle Board

I've always wanted to try stand-up paddle boarding. It looks cool... when other people do it. So at Ala Moana beach, there was a company doing demos and I tried it.
(Please do not be alarmed by giant red whale on board... that's just me!)






My graceful dismount!


Thank God for the instructor who helped steer me in!

I'd do it again but I need a lot of practice!

"Crack" Gets Passed Onto Next Generation

Oh no!


Tyler got a hold of Aunty SwissMiss' and Aunty CanadianLove's "crack*"...



... and he loved it!



Funny side note - Tyler's Lego man fell into the shake. Tyler thought it was so cool, we had to take a picture of it!

*Jack-in-the-Box Chocolate Shake

"Stolen" Potato Salad

Food always tastes best when you're enjoying it with friends! I learned to make potato salad in high school while working at a sandwich shop. I modified this "stolen" potato salad recipe, and love using it for potlucks because it's quick and yummy. The original recipe calls for dried parsley instead of fresh, and doesn't include celery seed. It also included grated carrots and MSG. Sorry, I don’t really measure anything so these are all approximations.

“STOLEN” POTATO SALAD (Approximations)
2.5 lbs russet potatoes
1 stalk celery
1/3 small yellow onion (do not use Maui onions, there’s not enough bite)
2 hardboiled eggs
1/8 - 1/4 cup mayo (Best Foods mayo tastes the best)
Salt (~ 1/2 tsp, add more to taste)
Pepper (2 pinches)
Parsley (2 sprigs, chopped optional)
Celery Seed (2 pinches optional)

Boil and peel potatoes. Cube the potatoes and put into a large bowl. Finely chop the celery, eggs and yellow onion, add to the still-hot potatoes. Sprinkle about 1/2 tsp salt over the mixture, and add the mayo. Mix while the potatoes are still hot, and you'll need less mayo. The “mashed potato” effect helps keeps the mayo content fairly low. Add pepper, and parsley for added color and flavor. Taste and add more salt as needed. Put potato salad in the refrigerator to chill.

Another Case of Mistaken Identity

It's happened again. Another face, another body and somebody thinking it is me. This time, although, I don't mind -because in this picture, I'VE NEVER LOOKED BETTER!

This is a picture taken at Contempo, an annual fundraiser for the Contemporary Art Museum, of my mother- and father-in-law and my brother- and sister-in-law. However, whoever it was matching names to faces, put down mine and Chris's name instead of Peter and Lauren! They also spelled Dods wrong, but that happens a lot. Kudos for putting two "r's" in my name though!

CanadianLove's "BIG" Birthday Bash

The Mean Girls gathered to celebrate CanadianLove's 21st (or so) birthday at Pearl Nightclub Saturday night!

We met CanadianLove's Canadian Love, Scott!



And CanadianLove's friends stopped by to wish him Happy Birthday!








CanadianLove's family celebrated too! You can see where he gets his good looks from!


The Mean Girls gave CanadianLove his gift... delivered Mean Girl-style!





Then everyone hit the dance floor!



Where everyone showed off their "moves"...

Then the singer pulled CanadianLove up on the stage to wish him a Happy Birthday!


And CanadianLove took center stage with his take on "Like A Virgin"...


Happy Birthday to Chaddy Waddy!

The Queen B is the 2008 Hokupa‘a Award Winner!

For those who missed it or for those who want to relive it, here is Miss Moani's winning moment as PRSA Hawaii 2008 Hokupa‘a Award Winner for Young PR Professional of the Year!






CONGRATS TO MOANI!

Mean Girls Rock!!!!

Mean Girls Rocked Da House at the PRSA Hawaii Chapter Koa Anvil Awards Dinner last night, taking home a total of 8 awards! :-) I don't want to write a lot about the dinner because I know a couple other MG's are working on something so I don't want to steal you thunder...however....

I want to thank all the MG's for an awesome night!!! I have the best friends in the entire world!!! I feel so happy, thankful and am so overwhelmed by the love and support you all gave me last night. Its so great to have this incredibly close group of girl friends that I know will be there through thick and thin. I couldn't believe you guys...I felt like I was graduating :-) Words honestly can't express how thankful I am for all of you. Okay, I'm stopping now before I cry at work. But I love you all!!! Thank you for just being fantastic and for being my rock. I LOVE YOU ALL!!

BTW, look mom I'm blogging again! ;-)

Mean Girls Rocked the Koa Anvil Awards

Honolulu, HI - A group of talented, intelligent, beautiful and high-spirited women, known as the Mean Girls, were recognized for their outstanding achievements in public relations last night at the 25th Annual Koa Anvil Awards. The Koa Anvil Awards celebrates the best public relations work in Hawaii – and of course, the Mean Girls are the best!

Not only did the Mean Girls, through their individual companies, win EIGHT awards, Mean Girls’ very own Queen Bitch (aka Moani) won the Hokupa`a Award – for being the exceptional PR practitioner with fewer than five years’ experience.

The night was filled with fun and laughter between these colleagues who have been fortunate to find each other and build their lasting friendships. They have proven they are all successes as well as being sexy. All of this leaves this writer to ponder one thing – why haven’t they created their own PR firm together to become a force to reckon with in Hawaii?

My New Title ... Ambassador

Chris and I are Maker's Mark Ambassadors. I'm not sure why I am since I don't drink whisky, but I am, and now have my very own "business" cards.

As ambassadors, they send us free stuff like this every once in a while. We also get our name, "The Dods Family Hawaii," etched on a barrel of bourbon in Kentucky. The barrel will take about 6 - 7 years to mature and become drinkable. I have a feeling that Chris will probably want to go on a pilgrimage to visit it before than, and definitely after it has matured for a taste!

And the Winner is ...

The winner for two free drinks for guessing Chris' double animal drawing of a sea horse and lion is ...

BUZZ BUNNY!!!

Nobody has guessed mine right yet (see July 14 blog entry for reference). So keep trying Mean Girls! I know we suck as artists, but I must brag that we did win one of the two nights we played the game against Asa The Artist and His Talented Wife Christi!

Crack is Back

MGs of MWC can't get enough of our favorite drinks.

Swiss Miss enjoys the chocolate shake from Jack-In-The-Box, after seeing CanadianLove have one last week.



Meanwhile, YankeeGal made a Shirokiya run for Boba!

It's My Birthday In July!

No, you're not crazy! It's not my birthday yet (which is December 2). But my husband already got me a birthday gift which he wrapped while I was sleeping one night. He offered me the choice of unwrapping now or on my actual birthday. And of course, I decided to wait... NOT!

I opened it to find...


It's what I wanted! I still haven't opened it yet but just having it makes me happy. And MG YankeeGal will enjoy "babysitting" it while I'm on vacation.

And speaking of birthdays in July, we're getting excited about CanadianLove's big one on Saturday!

Also, just for fun, here's pics of Turbo:

Going Green With TheBus

We all talk about how important it is to be sustainable, and why we need to recycle, etc. Some tout Hawaii's new rail as the great new public transportation venue (and yes, some despise it). But why do I get the "oh poor thing" look from people when I tell them I'm carpooling and taking TheBus home? Does our society view cars as a way of glorifying personal independence?

As far as I'm concerned TheBus is a great solution. I drive into work on Monday, leave my car at the office, and either carpool or take TheBus home in the evenings. My car is here at the office for any meetings, emergency needs, or if I'm working late. On Friday, I bring my car back home. It's convenient, and it makes me feel good to know I'm taking a few baby steps to "go green."

BENEFITS:

• Reduce "carbon footprint"
  
• Save money on gas
  
• Riding TheBus gives me time to work on my laptop while riding so I don't have to work when I get home
  
• Support public transportation
• Catch up on reading the Hawaii Mean Girls Blog (plug!)
  
• Car available at the office whenever I need to use it
• More time with my husband - driving in together in the morning
  

In the past few weeks I've been riding TheBus, I have never had a crazy, smelly person sit next to me. I didn't have to wait a long time for TheBus to arrive. Instead, I had a nice conversation with a woman about the weather, and yesterday I played with a cute baby boy who was riding TheBus with his mom. I didn't get much work done yesterday.

Public transportation and carpooling have some great benefits and TheBus is a good alternative to driving home everyday. I highly recommend visiting the website at www.thebus.org to find out information on routes, times, etc.

Good Fun, Good Food, Good Company ... Not So Good Drawings

Good Fun and Good Company - This weekend Chris and I went camping with our friends Asa and Christi at Ho`omaluhia Botanical Garden in Kaneohe. We have never been and were so happy that we had finally found this paradise. We are definitely going to go back soon (with the girls planning next time - the boys didn't communicate that well, and we had two of everything)! Our camp looked out over an incredible view of the mountains and a lake full of ducks! It was quiet and peaceful - something all of us needed - a very relaxing getaway!



Good Food - We didn't really rough it though, except for the showers that made you sound like you were having an orgasm because you had to exclaim, "Oh God," as your body went into shock with the painfully cold water. We had our air mattresses, my mechanical toothbrush, and delicious food to last for a week! We had yummy breakfasts, lunches and dinners that consisted of ahi and my special sauce and Shabu Shabu with Christi's special sauce! We even had smores, which were so good that again I sounded like I was having an orgasm!

Not So Good Drawings - Christi and Asa brought along a Napolean Dynamite drawing game where you have to draw two and sometimes three animals (sometimes with your left hand, and sometimes having the animals throwing a football!), but together, and your partner has to name all of them within a certain time period. It was hard for me and Chris to do, especially with Asa having been to art school and all!

A Mean Girls Quiz - Take a look at these two drawings. If you can guess the three animals (by me) correctly, on the left, I'll buy you a drink. If you can guess the two animals (by Chris) correctly, on the right, I'll buy you two drinks! Good Luck!