I Love To Learn!!

For the past couple of weeks when Katelyn and I have woken up in the mornings, PBS has not been on. So instead of Sesame Street, we’ve been watching Hip Hop Harry. That’s Harry, down below…
I think he should try out for the White Rapper Show. He could sooo win. I’ve been trying to move and talk and rhyme like him – I’m really learning a lot. Because I! Love! To! Learn!

“I had a question that needed an answer, so I asked my friends, they’re hip hop dancers – ‘where could I go, where should I look?’ To start the adventure they gave me a book. I opened it up and to my surprise, so many fun things were hidden inside…”

Now all he needs to do is add some Crypt Walkin’ to his repertoire.
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I’ve discovered M&M’s Dark. And I like them. I’m sure in the world of Dark Chocolate Connoisseurs this is blaspheme. But I’m pregnant, and I like ‘em!
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Last night we watched Flags of Our Fathers. Good movie.
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I moved offices (cubicles) in early January. I used to come in to work each morning, open up my blinds, and watch the progress of the growing bananas on the trees across the yard. Since I’ve moved, I now come in each morning, open up my blinds, and watch the neighbors dog take a dump in the yard.

~Deece
www.chamolinaole.blogspot.com

Sugar sugar…honey honey…

I had an appointment yesterday. It went well. The baby sounded great and dant da da da – my glucola test was awesome!

I’ll be seeing a Doctor in two weeks for a VBAC consult. As much as I think it’d be neat to have a VBAC – I’m a bit scared.

~Deece
www.chamolinaole.blogspot.com

Full Cream, 2%, or Half and Half?

Akeelah and the Bee – cute movie.
Mad Hot Ballroom – cute documentary.

The Rabbit Proof Fence appears very sad, and for this, James and I didn’t watch very much of it. Maybe we’ll finish it this week. But in the first 2 minutes of the film I learned something. Half-caste. As in half-CASTE, not half-cast, not half-cash. This makes me sad.

I always thought that I was half-cast…I didn’t know it is half-castE.
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Oh and I checked out Dolphin, there are no umbrella strollers for $15 on Saipan. But you know what there is an abundance of? Volcanic gas from Anatahan.

~Deece
www.chamolinaole.blogspot.com

My back is killing me!

I usually sing to Katelyn to put her to sleep at night and for her weekend naps. But she doesn’t like to stray too much, we just stick to the usual songs – Papa’s Song (Mockingbird song), a song about bubble gum, On Top of Spaghetti, Joy Joy Joy, and the Boom Boom song.

Yesterday she asked me to sing, “On top of spaghetti – all covered with bubble gum”.
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Oh, please don’t forget to complete an offer if you are helping me get a new camera.

~Deece
www.chamolinaole.blogspot.com

Please help Deece get a new camera.

You all (by you all, I mean the 5 of you) know how I don’t have a working camera. And I can’t afford one right now – and I won’t be able to afford one for a long time. Well I’ve found a way to get one. Please help me get a new camera before my new baby arrives. It doesn’t have to cost you anything. Just follow this link and join the website, then sign up for one of the free or minimal cost offers, and don’t forget to click on the button that says “I Completed This Offer”. Please help – I only need ten of you to sign up.

I’m not trying to get a fancy shmancy one, just the same one that I used to have so I can still use my same memory card and batteries.

You can sign up to receive a new laptop, digital camera, digital video camera, mp3 player, game consoles, and more. I just really want a camera so that I can take pictures of my children. A few of you might remember that I lost all of Katelyn’s newborn pictures – I am still very sad. Please help me preserve memories of the day my next little one will be born.

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Since James and I (and most of the Commonwealth) are really in a financial pinch, I am starting to pay more attention to the price of goods at different stores. So here are a few prices that might help you out:

(keep in mind that I really only do my grocery-type shopping at 6 stores – Sara Market, Joeten Hafa Adai or Susupe, Carmen Safeway, H-Mart, and Costco)

• Milk: Anchor milk – $12.50/case at H-Mart; $1.13/box at Carmen
• Ground Beef: $2.50/lb 70% lean at H-Mart (when available); $15.99 for 5lbs 70% lean at Costco
• Onions: $0.69/lb at H-Mart (this is cheaper than Joeten’s and Carmen’s sale prices)
• Mushrooms: $2.60/carton at Carmen (it’s never less than $3.52 for the same amount at Joeten)
• Rice: $18.99/50 lbs Diamond G Rice at Sara (this is cheaper than the sale prices Joeten)
• Toilet Paper: $0.69/roll Kirkland Signature brand at Costco; $6.99/12 rolls Charmin Basic at Sara Market
• Eggs are cheap at Sara and Costco – sorry no exact prices yet
• Regular vegetable cooking oil is pretty much the same price everywhere, but I think that the lowest prices are at H-Mart and Sara
• Fruits are cheaper and more abundant at Joeten
• Canned foods and other pre-packaged foods are usually cheapest at H-Mart
• Except for onions, vegetables are usually more expensive at H-Mart
• Of course, when you have the money to buy in bulk, Costco is usually a great save. In particular, I like to buy these from Costco:
• Dial bar soap
• Kirkland Diapers ($21.99/70 count size 5)
• Kirkland baby wipes (I think it’s possible to find just slightly cheaper wipes elsewhere, but I like the Kirkland ones best)
• Q-tips – always cheapest at Costco
• Pancake mix
• Syrup
• Olive oil
• Raisins
• I buy my meats from Carmen – they usually have the freshest Black Angus meats and their U.S. frozen meats just seem to cook up better than anything I’ve found at the other stores.
• Sometimes the local fruits and veggies are cheaper at Joeten – but I still prefer to buy them from the Sabalu market. I’ll be there tomorrow.
• Nissin Yaki Soba is a good quick meal. You can find this at Carmen.
• Frescas are available at Joeten Susupe
• Joeten Hafa Adai has a better selection of soy milk.
• Joeten Susupe has a good selection of frozen juices – organic and non-organic choices available.
• Puff pastry and phyllo doughs available at Joeten Susupe.
• Another thing I like about H-Mart is its rewards card thing. I have a free H-Mart card and I get points for they money I spend. I think it’s like a point for every dollar. And each point translates into a penny. So right now I have $4.00 saved on my H-Mart card – redeemable on the last four days of every month. I can either get cash for the points (i think) or use the points to purchase goods in the store. OR I can trade in the points for gifts. I know it’s slow earning, but it’s earnings, the other stores I like don’t offer this. Also, on certain occasions, like Christmas, they have special promos where for every so many dollars you spend you get a certain number of scratch-off cards and the cards give you free gifts.
• When Carmen and Joeten have sales, it’s really worth checking out. Some items’ prices come way down.
• Western Family and Kirkland Signature are very good generic brands.

If you’re interested in baby things…

• Don’t just stick to the usual Carmen Baby News like I used to. Why, just today I picked up two toddler toilet seats (one for Maui and one for Katelyn) at Ace Hardware Gualo Rai for $5 each.
• Sara Market has a decent selection of kids toys.
• I also heard you can get an OK umbrella stroller at Dolphin – I’m going to check it out tomorrow. They usually have a good selection of stuffed animals too.
• If you want cute (and cheap) kids plastic dinnerware, flatware, and cups head to National Office Supply – I’ll be there next payday.
• While most of the toys are really expensive at Lollipops, some things are very decently priced – this is pretty much never the case at Joeten Susupe, I just act like there is no toy department there.

That’s all I can think of for now.

Peace out, yo!

~Deece
www.chamolinaole.blogspot.com

The cost of Toilet Paper

Me: James, while there’s virtually no difference…the price per sheet of toilet paper is cheaper at Costco than at Sara.

James: Oh my gosh. You audit too much. Only an auditor…

~Deece
www.chamolinaole.blogspot.com

Pot fabot!

If anyone knows Ann Margaret, please tell her to stop giving out my cell phone number.

Either this girl has a number that is one digit off from mine or she’s giving out my number! I’m getting really tired of teenage boys calling me up at 11 pm. But at least the boys are respectful, unlike the girls. The rudeness that vomits from these girls mouths is enough for me to – OK, they call me up and ask for Ann Margaret. I tell them they have the wrong number and either they don’t believe me and start cussing at me like I’m their best friend or they speak so rudely like it’s my fault they dialed the wrong number.

The phone calls are irritating not only for the aforementioned reasons, but also because they waste my minutes. At least the text messages they send me are free – and amusing. Why, just the other night a kid named Jay texted me. The text was nothing special, it was just fun to read a message sent by someone whose signature is “Runaway Love”.

I’ve been thinking of purchasing a sign above MVA that reads something like, “Ann Margaret – Happy Birthday! And many more to come. Stop giving out my number, pot fabot! By da way, ur boy, RuNawAy LoVe, b lookin 4 u. ”

~Deece
www.chamolinaole.blogspot.com

Cookies ‘N Cream! My favorite!

I was talking with someone whose husband bought her Cookies N Cream ice cream this evening. So after a long day of taking care of my poor sick daughter, my wonderful husband ran to the Sara Market to get me some too.

Katelyn hasn’t had much of an appetite since late Friday. We had to take her and her dinner down to my sister’s house so my nephew, Ikaika (a.k.a. Mikey), could feed her. Finally, some food in her belly!

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James decided to build a ramp for Ikaika this afternoon. Of course, Auntie Deece wasn’t thrilled about it.

It started off small…

Then it got bigger…

Then it got small again…

Then someone wiped out…

And it was no more.

~Deece
www.chamolinaole.blogspot.com

My girl.

Katelyn skipped her nap two days ago and took a short one yesterday. So today she had a runny nose and a fever. The tylenol didn’t do much for her, only the motrin reduced her fever. Poor thing didn’t want to eat or drink even – she eventually did. She’s asleep now, I hope she’ll get over this quickly. I hate to see my girl suffer.

Even though she wasn’t feeling well, she was still happy enough to take this picture.

“We’re talkin’ it up! On the Barry Gibbs talk show. Talkin’ ’bout chest hair, talkin’ ’bout crazy cool medallions…” ~Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake

~Deece
www.chamolinaole.blogspot.com

Barbie Q.

At the Taste of the Marianas one year. We placed first in the ribs competition. My sister made the ribs. I made the avocado salad. Oh, she also made the aprons.

My sister is actually taller than me. I don’t know why I look taller in the photo – oh wait, that’s right. It’s the ridiculously tall shoes I used to wear.

~Deece
www.chamolinaole.blogspot.com

I’m getting WAY too fat!

James bought Katelyn another Care Bear for Valentine’s today. (He bought me a Whatchamacallit.) Really, it’s a Care Bear Cousin – Brave Heart Lion. I still have my old Brave Heart Lion that I plan to give her someday. I don’t know why Katelyn needs two, but whatever, I’m sure she’ll love them both.

I know I’ve mentioned this before, but Katelyn has a lot of stuffed animals (bears). I fear that one day when we take Katelyn to a real zoo [not like the Saipan Zoo whose wild african cat , Eli, escaped and found its way into MY YARD] she’ll reach over and start punching one of the bears. Because Katelyn knows that we “don’t hit people, only bears.”
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Look what I found. It’s a monologue from the Christopher Marlowe play Doctor Faustus. The website describes it as “a dramatic monologue for a man”. They don’t know what they’re talking about, I performed it in a competition when I was a senior in high school. And I was gooood.

BUT, I didn’t win. I’d like to believe that what my coach and principal said was true – that I should have won. I’d like to think that the only reason why I didn’t win was because we forgot to submit the monologue in written form to the judges. But who knows, right? Maybe I didn’t win because I performed a piece about a man who sold his soul to the devil while we were in the Grace Christian Academy church. Maybe I didn’t win because someone else was actually better than me. Mona, were you there?
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We finally decided on a name if we have a girl – Leah Marie.

~Deece
www.chamolinaole.blogspot.com

The Beach.

On Sunday James and I took Katelyn to the beach. We didn’t plan on it being a very involved trip. We put on our swimming clothes, threw on some sunblock, packed some towels, bought our girl some beach toys, and drove down to Lally 4.

She was apprehensive at first, but she slowly warmed up to the point where she didn’t want to leave. I borrowed my sister’s video camera and was hoping to post some clips. But while her camera can take digital still photos the video can only be recoded on tape. And I don’t know how to transfer the video.

As I watched my daughter and husband play and laugh in the water I just had to thank God for that day. It’s so wonderful that my daughter can at any time play in the same water and on the same white sandy beach that my mother grew up on back in the late 40’s and 50’s. Maybe my mom will come along with us next time – we plan to go often.

~Deece
www.chamolinaole.blogspot.com

I’m takin’ over!

I’m borrowing my sister’s video camera. I need a way to preserve memories and until I can get my camera fixed or get a new camera…I’m takin’ over!

Here is a picture of James on the first day he felt well enough to leave the house after he got sick in November. I took this picture just before my camera stopped working, luckily I was able to upload it by sticking the memory card into the video camera.

This is Katelyn. Earlier tonight. Trying to cover the camera lens.

~Deece
www.chamolinaole.blogspot.com

"You’ve got to walk that lonesome valley…."

So I changed my cell phone plan. I had been planning on downgrading my plan – I was going to switch to Saipan Cell because of their new lower rate plans. But then PTI just outdid them. In yo face!

I no longer have unlimited nights and weekends and I have a pretty small number of regular airtime minutes. But I have free long distance. So if I can keep my minutes under control, there’s a person in Seattle I’ll be calling from time to time.
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I bought a pair of “dress” shoes from Payless a few weeks ago. The first time I wore them the buckle on the left shoe broke. But I decided that I’m going to get some mileage out of these cheapo shoes so I went through the house looking for super glue – I ended up with a bottle of my niece’s Elmer’s School Glue gel. Say what you want, the buckle is back on. Boo-ya!

(I’ve already asked some ladies in my office to nominate me for What Not To Wear – after I shed the baby weight, that is.)
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Hershey’s Dolce de Leche Kisses are really good!
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After years of saying I would, I got around to buying a tube of St. Ive’s Apricot Scrub. I finally found a facial soap that works! Since Neutragena stopped working for me in high school, I found that nothing works! Including Proactiv. I don’t have horrible acne, but I’m 25 and break out a little more than I’d expect at this age.

Oh snap! There was ONE other face soap and moisturizer combo that worked – Mary Kay, the stuff in the orange and white tubes. I miss Mary Kay…maybe one day you’ll see me and my friend Velma driving around in pink Cadillacs.
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I (my mom) recently found some old tapes and CD’s stashed away in the house. Two tapes are of me when I was a baby and toddler – very cute, if I do say so myself. One is one of my Uncle Tony’s albums…”adios kirida neni, adios kirida neni, kirida neni adios sa esta bai hanaaaaoooo”.

And I finally found them again: The Kingston Trio Collectors series and all the best Irish Drinking songs. This morning I started drafting a letter while listening to “Bog Down in the Valley” and “Wild Rover”. I need to get myself some ear buds so I don’t bother my office mate while I listen to “The Tijuana Jail”, “Greenback Dollar”, “Worried Man”, and “Reverent Mr. Black”.

~Deece
www.chamolinaole.blogspot.com

A Camera! Finally!

Sorta. I comandeered my sister’s camera this evening. I didn’t go nuts with it, but I had some fun. Here we go!

Katelyn put this outfit together and then told me she was ready for work. Two sweaters and a Thai skirt.

My cute girl.

Making tea for her newest care bear.

Shameless Self Portraits

Belly shots.

Like my new short hair?

I’ve worn this shirt out a few times. I received several ‘looks’. Whateva! I know what clan I’m from.

~Deece
www.chamolinaole.blogspot.com