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As in, I am a nut for macadamias. Since we were just in Hawaii, obviously we stocked up. Last year we only got three cans (and gave two away!) but this year we came home with ten in five different varieties.

Kona Coffee Glazed, Milk Chocolate Toffee, Wasabi & Teriyaki, Milk Chocolate, and Dry Roasted. We have four more cans of the Dry Roasted. I also got Macadamia Nut Hershey Kisses.

They’re wrapped in Mauna Loa-blue (it’s trademarked) foil and the little flags say Aloha! Too cute and too delicious.

Tonight I decided to use some of my nutty bounty to make macadamia crusted chicken, but all the recipes I could find online were too complicated or involved deep-frying or saving drippings and other things I’m not interested in., So I made Macadamia Nut Back-of-the-Cupboard Delight Chicken.

•2 chicken breasts (boneless, skinless, aka the only kind of chicken I will cook)
•1 egg
•1 tsp soy sauce
•1/4 cup chopped macadamia nuts
•1/2 tsp salt
•1/2 tsp white pepper
•1/4 tsp garlic powder

Preheat oven to 425°F.

In a small bowl combine egg & soy sauce. In a second small bowl combine nuts, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Place chicken in an appropriate dish (I had to use a different one than normal because I’m a spazz case and broke my favorite Pyrex baking dish by putting in a sink with cold water when it was still hot from the oven. It DISINTEGRATED). Brush with the mix of egg & soy sauce then sprinkle with macadamia nut mix. Bake for 35-35 minutes.

You could very easily totally coat the chicken by dipping it into the egg mix and then the macadamia mix, but I didn’t feel like chopping up more nuts and I didn’t have any breadcrumbs (which one would want to mix into the nuts). Anyway it was delicious. I served it with these ADORABLE MICROSCOPIC POTATOES, I swear they were the size of grapes:

… and a leafless salad. We did have some spinach but it was leftover from before our trip and although it looked okay it tasted nasty, and although Taylor went to the store but he bought this mixed herb salad which I don’t like. It’s easier this way, I don’t have to fight with Symphony to get her to eat the leafy parts! I did refuse to tell her what was on the chicken until after she’d tried it, since she is a cuckoo banana and doesn’t like macadamia nuts. I swear, sometimes I wonder if we are even related.

Also, before it fades and I’m whiter than death again, I wanted to share with you all evidence of My Sweet Tan:

Perfection.

I’m still planning the rest of my vacation recap, I just don’t want to fall further behind so until I’m caught up I’m going to uhh double up uhh uhh all my posts.

March 18th

We got up really early and headed for the airport for our 9:30 flight. We already had everything packed except for our toothbrushes so it was a snap. Checking in and trip through customs & security was a breeze. The check in agent complimented us on how well organized we were, unlike most families who have eighty-billion tons of stuff with them (my packing light was totally perfecto, btw, I wore everything except for a few underthings and my one-piece bathing suit). Taylor managed to not forget his giant suitcase at the check in desk this time (phew) and the airport security area has been, like, totally redone and streamlined since our last trip. I guess the Olympics were good for something other than just winning gold medals!


This was Symphony’s first real flight. We’d taken a seaplane over to Vancouver Island once but that really doesn’t count. I was worried she’d be sick or miserable or whiny but she was actually really good and only complained about being bored a few times. She was a little scared when we were landing, but that’s totally normal. If you’ve ever flown to Maui you know how freaky that hairpin turn over the ocean & sudden screeching halt on the runway can be! I actually had it worse than Sym, for some reason my right ear is a pressure change nightmare and I had horrible pain all down that side of my face and into my jaw and eyeball.

We quickly picked up our luggage and hopped on the shuttle to the rental car agency, where we upgraded ourselves from a regular SUV to a RIDICULOUSLY HUGE Chevy Tahoe. We rented one last summer when we went to Oregon, but that time we had more luggage (I wasn’t packing light then) and Dougal’s big dog crate. I’m not sure we really needed such a big truck but I can’t help it, I love them! Symphony approved as well.


I was pretty nervous to see what our condo would be like. I found it on a vacation rentals by owner website and for all I knew it could have been disgusting. I chose it because of the location (way down at the south end of Kihei, almost in Wailea) and the price ($130 a night for a 2 bedroom). I was also worried because when I google maps-ed the address there was nothing there, like NO BUILDING AT ALL. As it turned out the entrance was actually off a side street I didn’t have anything to worry about because the place was FAN. TAS. TIC. I would absolutely stay there again if (when!) we go back to Maui.


Once we were settled in we went down to the beach. Part of the reason I wanted to have a condo in this area was because we wanted to be close to Keawakapu Beach, and we were basically across the street, which was great! This is the beach our cheap, non-wedding-night hotel is on, and since you can’t see it from the road it’s much less busy than some of Kihei’s other beaches.



As you can see, Taylor’s shorts were already wet from standing in the waves. This happened basically every day!


After dinner we went down to the lawn of a nearby beachfront condo resort to watch the sunset and a family of humpback whales was right off the shore, like maybe 50 feet out. It was amazing and a perfect end to our perfect first (half)day in Hawaii!

Next Up: Beach Day #1

It’s been a while, internet! I meant to post while I was on vacation for the last week but I forgot my wordpress password and I couldn’t retrieve it because I also forgot my gmail password. Oopsies! But please rest assured that I will be inundating you with pictures and stories and did I mention pictures? from our trip 🙂 In the meantime…

Sweet Valley High #120 In Love with the Enemy, 23/104
Sweet Valley High #121 The High School War, 24/104
Sweet Valley High #122 A Kiss Before Dying, 25/104

Before we left for Maui I downloaded my favorite fantasy trilogy from high school to my kindle to read on the plane/the beach/etc. I didn’t want to start it ahead of time so in the last couple days before we left I pulled out some random SVH books from my nearly complete collection to read. I chose the ~Betrayal~ miniseries and really, what can I say about Sweet Valley High that hasn’t already been said in many, many other blogs? Basically, these books are the California sun-kissed perfect-size-six blondes of the literary world! This miniseries has it all: Gang violence! A Tragic death! Surfing competitions! What more could you ask for?

Weather forecast for Kihei, Maui.

I meant to post yesterday but I got sucked into a packing- and list-making vortex instead. On the upside, all our clothes are packed and ready to go. Tonight/tomorrow I’m going to do toiletries, electronics, etc etc.

Last time we went to Hawaii we had to take so much extra stuff with us because of the wedding: my dress and Taylor’s suit (obviously), three extra pairs of shoes (all mine, don’t even ask), make-up, my blowdryer and straightening iron, nail polish, blah blah blah. We had a big suitcase, a small suitcase on the way there and two on the way back (yes, I bought a suitcase there), a backpack, a garment bag and my purse for the two of us for just three and a half days. This time three of us are going for a week and we’re only taking the big suitcase, one small suitcase, Taylor’s backpack (which is full of his camera equipment so I’ve absolved myself of all responsibility) and my purse. That’s it!

Usually I have a terrible habit of Vince Noir-style overpacking, but I really didn’t want to this time since I’m the one who would end up having to haul it all to the airport, so I made a real effort to reduce the amount of crap I’m bringing. Here’s how:
• Instead of just throwing stuff into the suitcase willing-nilly, I made a really specific list and packed only the items on the list after careful consideration of each one.
• Being realistic. Am I REALLY going to go running while I’m there? No I am not, so I don’t need workout clothes or running shoes. Am I REALLY going to do anything with my hair besides tie it back? No I am not, so I don’t need a ton of hair products or styling tools.
• Since I dress monochromatically, everything I’m bringing is grey, white, black or denim (it’s a neutral, okay?). Everything matches everything else.
• Since I dress like a slob, 90% of the clothes I packed double as pajamas, eliminating the need for actual pajamas.
• Dressing efficiently for travel. It’s cold here. It’s hot in Hawaii. Instead of wearing a heavy, bulky outfit on the plane and changing into a whole new outfit once I get to Maui, I’m wearing a sundress with leggings, a cardigan and a light jacket. When I get to the airport my coat will go into my checked suitcase. When we get to Maui, the cardigan and leggings will go into my purse and voila: I’m appropriately dressed. Symphony is doing the same.
• 90% of my travel clothes also double as pajamas.
• My Kindle! Two six-hour flights = lots of reading. I downloaded a four-book series with each book (in actual book form) averaging 750 pages, all in a lightweight package the size of a moleskine. So much more space efficient and lighter than actual books!
• There are some products (shampoo, bodywash, etc) that we all use. Instead of bringing full-size bottles with us, I’m packing travel sizes for the first night, and the next day we’ll go buy full-size ones to use while we’re there.

I’m feeling pretty good about nearly all our packing plans except one: I was going to bring my grey Club Monaco purse for carry-on since it zips shut (important for being stowed under plane seats), but Taylor and Symphony are both bringing their netbooks. With the only other carry-on bag being Taylor’s backpack crammed with camera equipment and no extra space, I’ve been put in charge of them, so I need
a) a second carry on bag (it would technically be Symphony’s carry-on item but I would end up carrying it, I just know it)
b) a bigger purse
I’d much rather bring a bigger purse than a whole extra bag, but the only one I have that’s both big enough AND has a closure at the top is… my MbMJ diaper bag. I guess it might get some use a bit earlier than I’d planned!

The Secret Hour 20/104, Touching Darkness 21/104, Blue Noon 22/104

I read all three Midnighters books in about three days. I really like all of Scott Westerfeld’s books that I’ve read and these were no exception! The story was cool and the history/mythology behind it all was really well thought out. I could have done without the annoying younger sister character but OH WELL. Other than that and some weird continuity issues with who-is-picking-whom-up-from-school they were great.

What I was hoping would be a fun day for my family turned out to be total poop. Why? Because I’m siiiiiiiick /whining

I’d been stuffy-nosed for the last few days, but this morning I woke up and I’ve turned into a total snot faucet! Also tired, achey, weak and floppy, all those good things. I spent most of the day in bed- I even had breakfast (pancakes) and lunch (soup & toast) in bed. Unfortunately I can’t watch movies in there anymore because I moved my computer out here to the library, so I’ve mostly just been reading on my Kindle. I actually noticed something weird about it a few weeks ago: when it goes to “sleep” it puts an image on the screen- either and old-timey drawing or a picture of a writer. For some reason Emily Dickinson shows up on mine more than any other picture. When you wake the Kindle up the screen flashes briefly and I SWEAR you can see her skull and creepy grinning teeth.

NOT COOL, AMAZON. NOT COOL. Another weird thing: earlier this week I was having a bath and sulking because I can’t read in the tub, so I made Taylor come read to me out of his Wired magazine (or as I call it, BORING MONTHLY). He turned the page and there was a full page ad for waterproof cases for e-readers! Serendipitous! Although I guess I could just put it in a freezer bag, ha.

I did leave the house once today- I had to mail a couple more prints (Thank you Kerri and Miranda!!) and deposit a rebate cheque I got from my KitchenAid stand mixer, but I also really really wanted to go to the art supply store to buy canvases for the mural I’m doing for my friend.

Top to bottom: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Pluto, Mini-Mecha-Fawn, Uranus, Neptune, Saturn, Jupiter, the Sun (all pending)

I ended up adjusting slightly from my original design- I was able to find smaller canvases for the 5 small planets, and I also decided it would look better if all the paintings were square instead of having two random rectangular ones.

Anyway that’s all. Taylor is napping since he woke up at 3:45 this morning, but I’m going to go wake him up and see if he wants to watch a movie with me or something. I’ll leave you with this picture I took of his dog this morning. I call it “Kichou in Furs.”

How excited am I that this week is almost over? SO EXCITED. Symphony has reached the spring breaking point. She’s bored of staying at home with me and the daycare kids and she’s getting pretty whiny and irritable. Yesterday she went to her friend Ali’s house to play and it was great for both of us- she got to go do something with someone her own age and I didn’t have to listen to her complaining and asking for food all day (I’ve had to make a rule that other than set meal- and snack times she isn’t allowed to ask me for things to eat because otherwise she’ll do it LITERALLY all day long).

I’m also happy that the week is almost over because HELLO it’s the weekend! which means no diapers, no fights with toddlers and hopefully, a well-rested and less crabby husband. Tomorrow I get to go to the art supply store (this is one of my favorite kinds of stores) to buy canvases for a Tanie-style mural of the solar system I’m doing for my friend. I won’t really get much time to work on it for a couple weeks but the canvases are on sale so I’m picking them up asap. This is the concept sketch I came up with yesterday:

Please note the inclusion of Mecha-Fawn.

Now the reason I’m MOST excited and why I can’t work on the paintings for a couple weeks is that we’re going away on vacation next Thursday morning. We’re going to Maui (where we were married, a year ago next weekend) for a whole week of sitting on the beach. I ABSOLUTELY CANNOT WAIT!! After this weekend I only have three more days of work and then it’s time for:

Gorgeous beaches!

Gatoradvil!

Martian-looking volcanic landscapes!

Sunsets!

Curly-haired husbands!

Breakfast mimosas at a beachfront restaurant patio from which you can see humpback whales splashing around!

Romantical re-enactments of the infamous fb profile photo (this was how we broke the news to our families that we got married, haha)!

The Hunger Games 17/104, Watch Your Mouth 18/104, Little Brother 19/104

I decided to read The Hunger Games after reading Danielle’s review on Sometimes Sweet. If there’s one thing I love, it’s young adult fiction about teens in a possibly post-apocalyptic dystopian society, and this book had all that in spades. It’s really well written and the story is super engaging, I LITERALLY could not put this book down- I started reading it last Thursday afternoon and stayed up until 2 am Friday morning to finish it. I’m holding my breath until the sequel, Catching Fire, is available for the Kindle.

Watch Your Mouth is a novel by Daniel Handler, the author of The Basic Eight (one of my all-time favorites). I’d never read this one before but I finally got it and idk, I’m not sure that I really liked it. It was definitely interesting but maybe Jewish incest opera just isn’t my genre.

What can I say about Little Brother? Another free book by Cory Doctorow, and again I found myself annoyed. The story itself (gamers vs the Department of Homeland Security) isn’t bad, although I was DECEIVED into thinking it was a book about teens in a possibly post-apocalyptic dystopian society, when really it’s about teens in the current pre-apocalyptic dystopian society, but I found someone the descriptions and explanations of cryptography and internet systems tiresome. Maybe I’m just not enough of a nerd. Also, multiple times girls were described as being h4wt. No. Just no. I also stayed up until 2 am to finish this book, but that was because I didn’t want to have to read it again today.

I was kind of wondering how long it would take for my new desk to get a bunch of random crap piled on it, and the answer is ONE WEEK.

Sunglasses, a giant novelty-size calculator, the notebook I keep my daycare waiting list in, Symphony’s second term report card (straight MFs except for one M in phys ed), five necklaces of hers I’m trying to untangle, her wallet, some hair clips and discs, and two new vinyl toys I got this past weekend.

On the left is a KidRobot Dunny from the ~Fatale~ line. I keep buying them because one is a unicorn but so far I’m having no luck finding it! This one is cool though, it was designed by Catalina Estrada, who is actually one of my favorite artists! On the right is a grey Tokidoki Cactus Pup that Symphony gave to me because she already has this one and she knows I like grey.