Golden Malia Blog

RayMay 16, 2012 - 2:40 pm

Hey! I LOVE your blog! I nominated you for the “Versatile Blogger Award” – info on this post: http://itsawunderfullife.wordpress.com/2012/05/16/versatile-blogger-award/

Pay Day

Friday, January 27, 2012 Posted in Family

“It’s Aloha Friday… no work til’ Monday…” You know the song? I think most people in Hawaii hum it every Friday. We start singing it first thing in the morning to help us get through the last day before the weekend. It’s the light at the end of the tunnel. It’s the my paycheck is deposited and the weekend is almost here anthem of Hawaii.

I am a “stay at home mom”. I am non-stop busy. I still love Friday’s… no school til’ Monday… but mom’s don’t really get a break. We are on the job 24/7. We don’t get a paycheck either.

We get paid in other ways.

And I just hit the lotto…

My eight year old Kainalu presented this to me.

This photo my dad took Christmas Eve pretty much sums up Kainalu.

Mellow.

His voice is usually a quiet, calm and mumbled monotone.

Kinda like Napoleon Dynamite.

Kainalu wrote this paragraph to go along with my award.

It made my day. It made my years…

Kainalu told me that I should save it forever.

He said that if I ever have a bad day that I should pull it out and read it and it can help me feel better.

Sweetness!

Be still my heart…

Those are some kind words. Being his hero is a lot to live up to!

Reading this makes me want to be all these things… everyday.

But it was almost sweeter that Kainalu realized that though I try I sometimes fail.

I am not always these things everyday.

I have bad days.

And he hopes reading this will make me feel better.

He loves me anyway.

Now here is a photo of my 6-year-old Kalena with her cousin Joe.

She is opposite of Kainalu.

Most pictures of her are blurry because she never stops moving, dancing, singing or screaming.

My dad managed to capture her still for a split second this Christmas.

This is Kalena’s homework that she ironically did on the same day I received my award.

She needed to write the word ‘do’ five times along with two sentences using the word ‘do’.

I suppose this is how she sees me.

I asked her to think of something more interesting but she was set on this.

She was very adamant that I liked to DO these things.

My dad has always said that being a parent is life’s greatest blessing but also life’s greatest challenge.

My friend Robin shared this article recently and it made me laugh. And relate.

Check it out and you will know what I mean when I say….

I am grateful for these Kairos moments…

happy aloha friday, malia

2 comments

Emily Alice-Holshouser TwillingJanuary 30, 2012 - 1:25 pm

Just love these pictures! Just love these words!

kailiApril 12, 2012 - 4:39 pm

hey aunty malia! now i have papa rays computer and i wanted to say hi.

Haiku Mill

Monday, January 23, 2012 Posted in Simple Pleasures

Last night I traded out my mom jeans for some heals. Okay well they were actually platforms but it’s the best this mom could do at the moment. My dear friend, and very talented photographer Teahi (aka Ramona) is on Maui for the La Fleur Weddings & Events 2-Day Maui Photographers & Stylists Workshop. Teahi invited me to join her and her sweet mother Marvelee for the opening night reception.

It was hard to leave my mom realm. Minutes before my departure my 10 year-old wound up with skinned knees, palms, elbows and stomach. My 4 year-old fell and got a knot on his head and the 6 year-old literally had to be peeled off me crying. Thankfully my 8 year-old was mentally and physically stable but as I was driving away I wondered what I was thinking leaving them like that.

When I arrived to the event at the Haiku Mill the night morphed from over worked and under paid super mom-ville to a whimsical world straight out of a fairytale.

I took many photos with my 50mm but computer and hard drives are still not working.

So I snapped some quickies with my iPhone too…

Hope you can catch a glimpse of the magic with these late night phone shots.

I was entranced… I am not accustomed to this but I sure could get used to it…

Here my dear… let me serve you a lilikoi, mango spritzer.

Enjoy the calm company of your dear friend and mother all while in the presence of extremely kind and talented creative minds.

Somebody pinch me.

If that wasn’t enough to make my heart sing let me share a few photos from the bridal suite.

Can you hear my heart’s pitter-patter?

I may need to renew my vows just so we can have it here at the Haiku Mill.

Had to throw in a couple of photos proving I was there.

Yup, me and my mom bag.

Well, I can’t actually blame my huge bags on the kids. I was always the bag lady…

Mini desserts anyone?

Fancy pacific rim cuisine?

Yes please and thank you very much.

And of course the very talented Tahitian and Hawaiian style entertainment by Manutea Nui E.

Fun and enthusiastic fire dancer Kawika Dang.

Can you see the waterfall? The hula dancer?

Kaniala Masoe on the Uke… He can sing!

I am Akinaka. Teahi is Okimoto. The Oki and Aki ohana’s have been dear friends for many years now. We have been through a lot with them and love them like family.

So grateful to have had this moment in time to share with the most loveliest of ladies.

Mahalo to Jill LaFluer and all others involved for so graciously hosting such a beautiful, relaxing event.

True ho’okipa…

5 comments

Kristy CopperfieldJanuary 25, 2012 - 7:28 am

ahhhh! so, so beautiful. the haiku mill is just a dream!!!

MelissaJanuary 25, 2012 - 7:48 am

Beautiful! I wish I got married there. Also, the dancers and singer are from my friends company Manutea Nui E. Her name is Joey Dang, her husband is the fire dancer Kawika Dang, and the singer is Kaniala Masoe.

MaliaJanuary 25, 2012 - 8:43 am

Mahalo Melissa! I knew Kaniala… was planning on emailing his mother in law the photos of him. So glad I can properly credit the rest of the group too. Thank you!

Robin CorreaJanuary 25, 2012 - 12:11 pm

Wow, stunning!

Sylvia Hamilton KerrJanuary 26, 2012 - 9:51 am

Aloha Beautiful,

Thank you so very much for joining us here at Haiku Mill. And thank you for all your wonderful photos and gushing compliments. It was such a pleasure to meet you and to enjoy all that your talented ohana brought to our magical night. For me it is a rare pleasure to sit and enjoy with everyone who is here. Normally I’m “on duty”, watching over every little detail so I think I felt a lot like you did. Thank you for your wonderful story and I hope to see you here very soon for some, like you say, real Ho’okipa. That’s what I live for and I’m so lucky to be able to provide that to the wonderful people who show up at the mill.

With Warmest Aloha,

Sylvia

Vanilla Syrup

Friday, January 6, 2012 Posted in Food

I have a present for you! This gift is going to rock your world.

One of the highlights of this Holiday Season was the homemade vanilla syrup that we served with our annual waffle bar tradition on New Years Eve. And today, you too can enjoy this vanilla bliss because you are getting the recipe here for free!

I feel so excited for you like I am on Oprah’s Favorite Things show giving away this deliciousness. In fact I can almost hear you all cheering!

Let me just tell you that I am not a syrup fan. But this stuff I could drink from a glass. Thank you to my friend Diana for letting me share her recipe!

Vanilla Syrup Goodness

Make sure you make it in a pot 4X bigger than you need, like a soup pot.

You can double this recipe then and freeze what you don’t need. Or just drink it. Whatever comes first.

1 C unsalted butter (I used salted butter)

1 C sugar

1 pinch of salt

1/4 tsp baking soda

2 T vanilla

2 C buttermilk (to make buttermilk put 1 T vinegar in a one cup measuring cup. Then fill with milk. Let sit for a few minutes and voilà! You have buttermilk. Double for this recipe.)

2 T Karo Syrup

Bring butter, sugar, Karo Syrup, buttermilk & salt to a boil. Remove from heat. Also, the longer you boil the mixture the more caramelly it will taste. I just let it boil up big to a rolling boil and then remove from heat. Whisk in vanilla then carefully whisk in the baking soda. Pour it on everything in sight.

For a reference… We doubled the batch and it was enough to feed the 18 kid cousins and 10 adult family members that were there with about 3 cups left over.

This syrup is so good it deserves its own photo shoot. One day I will set up a beautiful scene with this syrup and share those photos but for now enjoy the iPhone shot I took in a hurry before drenching my waffle with it along with some fresh strawberries, blueberries and homemade whipped cream.

On a side note I have to admit that I am trying not to eat anything with corn syrup in it. All my kids know it is on our list of bad ingredients to avoid. So I will keep you updated if I ever figure out a good substitute for it in this recipe! We have been drastically cutting down on sugar too. But every once in a while a treat like this is well deserved.

Let me know if you try it sometime. Happy eating! aloha, malia

4 comments

Emily Alice-Holshouser TwillingJanuary 7, 2012 - 5:09 pm

Oh my goodness, Malia, I love this picture! And you know what? Over the Christmas holiday, while we were at the hotel in Carmel, they had a Belgian Waffle Maker in the breakfast area, which we tried. Now I am on the search for a good Belgian Waffle Maker, and I can just taste the butter and Vanilla Syrup floating in those deep waffle crevices. Thank you.

JoyeJanuary 17, 2012 - 7:37 pm

Oh my goodness! Yum! I am so making this! Thx for sharing, Malia! And thanks for visiting me and leaving such a sweet comment Hooray for making new friends!

JoyeJanuary 17, 2012 - 7:43 pm

Oh my! Yum! Yum! I am so making this! Thx for sharing, Malia. I love your name and all of your kids name’s Just reading their names reminds me of the sing song quality of the hawaiian language…it’s so beautiful. Thx for visiting me, your comments were so sweet and hooray for making new friends

JoyeJanuary 17, 2012 - 7:45 pm

ok, so sorry for posting twice (and now three times) but the first time it said there was an error… ! oops.

Are You There?

Thursday, January 5, 2012 Posted in Faith, Family

Are you there? If you are anything like me you have been lost in the Holiday Abyss. With 21 family members visiting us from off island this season we have been busy to say the least.

It has been fun though.

Unfortunately Santa did not bring me a new computer for Christmas. It is still broken… so no real camera photos can be uploaded. Leaving me still with only the pictures from my iPhone to post.

I have let that stop me from blogging as I am dying to edit and post so many fun memories captured through my 50mm lens. But this is my recent conclusion inspired by none other than Pinterest…

photo credit

So I am going to live with what I’ve got… I think that is a good goal for the New Year.

Speaking of goals… I always have so many goals, plans and aspirations for myself and my little family running through my head.

I often regret the things I have not gotten to carry out in times past.

I realize that my little ones are growing up so fast and will not always be bouncing off the walls of my home.

Not everything I have planned for the family gets accomplished.

People say that it is the thought that counts. But it is my thoughts being translated into actions that make memories.

When my kids are grown I don’t imagine that they will look back and be grateful that though I did not spend much time being fully present with them at least I had good thoughts or intentions to do so. No, they will only remember and be grateful for the time I actually did personally invest into them.

So one of my many goals for this New Year is to BE THERE.

I was inspired by this video below. I hope you will be too. I call it ARE YOU THERE?

And since I have an “I print out Christmas cards but don’t actually mail them all out” complex. I want to share our card with you here.

happy new year and aloha, malia

6 comments