http://smalltalk.staradvertiserblogs.com Mon, 20 May 2013 11:47:17 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Be very wary when a little kid wants to give you a gift. On the way to school, we pass a small patch of land that is a little neglected, thus grows wild with whatever seeds the birds drop. It looks like it's kind of city property but I have learned ... http://smalltalk.staradvertiserblogs.com/2013/05/20/licked/ We've hit critical mass in the shrimp tank. Yay! I looked in there this week and there are roughly four dozen babies floating vertically. It looks like red rain. For a couple months, whenever I look in there, there are at least five or six pregnant shrimp with huge clutches - ... http://smalltalk.staradvertiserblogs.com/2013/05/17/opae-ula-breeding/ Poor Olivia. She's so attuned to shifts in our schedule. Is this because we're very close since I was home all or most of the time for her first three years of life? I've been working a lot for the past few months. Early mornings, late nights, weekends. I'm not sure ... http://smalltalk.staradvertiserblogs.com/2013/05/15/i-want-my-mommy/ Someone was very proud of the gift she had made for me for Mother's Day. GiftS, plural,  should say. [caption id="attachment_7075" align="alignnone" width="224" caption="My favorite portrait of me"][/caption] When she came home from school on Friday, she presented me a brown bag and some assorted cards. "Open it!" she insisted. I told her ... http://smalltalk.staradvertiserblogs.com/2013/05/13/mothers-day-gift/ My high school classmates organized a fishing excursion at an old Hawaiian fishpond in Haleiwa, Loko Ea. It's owned by our high school, so we received permission to throw nets there one Sunday. It's currently undergoing some restoration and volunteers are needed to help clean it up. I don't know much ... http://smalltalk.staradvertiserblogs.com/2013/05/10/mr-tilapia/ The children in Olivia's class are graded on behavior every day. They get a green, yellow, or red light based on how well they behaved. You can guess that green = good and red = bad. She came home from school and revealed that she got a yellow light. She gets ... http://smalltalk.staradvertiserblogs.com/2013/05/08/like-a-dog/ I'm pleased to tell you that this blog has been nominated for an EMMY® award. Specifically, a video I did on a candy artist in 2012 has received recognition from the regional EMMY® chapter. The category is News Writing. The nominated story is here: http://smalltalk.staradvertiserblogs.com/2012/12/31/honolulu-candy-makers-resurrect-dying-japanese-craft/ A full list of nominees is here: http://www.emmysf.tv/images/emmy13%20nomination%20press%20release.pdf More information about ... http://smalltalk.staradvertiserblogs.com/2013/05/06/emmy-nomination/ When Susan Koki walked into a King Street watering hole last April to pick up her son, she never expected she would find the love of her life. "I had been a single mother since 1995, and I was content. I wasn't looking for a man, and I was prepared ... http://smalltalk.staradvertiserblogs.com/2013/05/03/second-chances/ Last weekend, I was at Moanalua Gardens for a playdate. I was standing under a monkeypod tree when a nut fell on my head. If you know the Gardens, you know the trees are big and majestic - and over 100 feet tall. It whacked me with enough force to temporarily ... http://smalltalk.staradvertiserblogs.com/2013/05/01/some-nut/ "Mommy, Daddy, I have a surprise for you!" Olivia called sweetly from the yard. I assumed - SO wrongly - that it was the usual flowers she loves to pick. I asked her to bring it in. She insisted it could only be viewed outside. OK, must be a flower on ... http://smalltalk.staradvertiserblogs.com/2013/04/29/the-gross-phase/