Christmas 2012

Christmas this year was lovely and we managed to stretch it out an extra day. Joe and I did our own celebrating Christmas Eve with a mini holiday dinner, then the big family event on Christmas Day out on the North Shore.

Highlights:
1. Video of my cousin Kaimana, age 9, being a yoga instructor.
2. Doctor Who t-shirt from my husband.
3. New game; Quelf. (Thanks to April for letting us know this exists. Moores, go check it out! Joe, I've got you now!!)

Internet Christmas Card

Merry Christmas from the Winskyes!

We wish you a wonderful holiday season and many adventures in the new year.

Green Christmas Wrapping

I decided that this year I'm doing all my gift wrapping using fabric. It started because I've been seeing beautiful furoshiki everywhere as I do my gift shopping. Furoshiki are Japanese cloths used for wrapping and carrying things. They are so versatile! For a great chart on a bunch of ways to use them, look here: How to use furoshiki.

Here is some of my gift wrapping this year:

Using a scarf that I have. It's about 18" x 18"

A Turkish scarf that I've had for many years but only now found a use for. Same size as the first scarf.

I also used scrap fabric that I had around. None if this was square, so the furoshiki ties didn't apply here. This was a little more trial and error than anything else, but I'm happy with how they turned out.

If you don't have scrap fabric laying around you can create some from old bedsheets, pillowcases, t-shirts or other clothing. Anything you don't use anymore is fair game. It doesn't need to be a perfect square. Study the furoshiki ties and then improvise. You can make almost anything look great by wrapping and tying very tightly and then tucking in any stray bits that you don't like the look of.

Happy wrapping!

Ice Skating

If you want to see what hapiness looks like, take a Canadian who has been living in Hawaii for 18 months, and walk into an ice skating rink:

Aww, he's a ray of sunshine... :)

I however, am not so great on skates, but at least we had a good time. While Ray was racing around, I looked more like this:

 

What I said was, "The fact that you can even have your phone out right now sickens me." He's skating backwards. But beware of getting too cocky... I hear karma is a bitch. Look for the dip in the camera at about 8 seconds.

This is What Homework Sounds Like

After being sick for three weeks, simultaneously trying to keep up with classes and stage manage a show, I am pushing to finish all of my term papers. How does one concentrate on finishing a presentation and five written assignments? The answer is this, on repeat: Palladio, performed by Escala. I am not joking. I am listening to this as I type. On repeat. Over and over again, for the past week and probably well into next week. Thanks to my Apocalyptica themed Pandora station.

Grad school is taking its toll.

Romance: Part 5

Me: I'll camp out near the...door.
Joe: I hope you weren't searching for the word "door."
Me: I was.
Joe: Come here (strokes my hair). Are you sure this whole master's degree thing is a good idea?"

A Gazelle's Wish

I'm in a Southeast Asian Puppetry Seminar this semester, and in my research, I found this video. It is an animation done using Indian shadow puppets. This is not the full length animation, but it was too beautiful not to share.

 Animated by Gul Ramani

Fun with Election Videos

Here are my three favorite election themed video from this race. Enjoy.






This last one Matthew forced on me, so I am now subjecting you to it as well.

Vote

All the  cool kids are doing it. Seriously. Joe and I already went.

Everyone is telling you that THIS is the year you need to vote, that the issues are so important this election of all elections. And you are thinking that you hear that every election year, that people say EVERY year is the year that our whole future could change.

That's because IT IS. Every election affects your future, your rights, and the rights of those that you love. Please vote.

Waimanolo Bay

Joe is taking an Asian Acting Styles class and currently they are studying Kyogen. A couple of weeks ago they had a guest teacher from Japan, Maruishi Sensei, teach a week of master classes. On the last day they all went to the beach so I tagged along to get some much needed sun. They frolicked in the waves. I did homework and took pictures. I know how exciting that sounds and wouldn't want you to feel left out, so here are the photos:

You just can't go to the beach in Hawaii without running into a wedding (or two).

Some of our friends were crazy enough to go swimming. Twice.

That's Maruishi Sensei on the left.

Anuenue to end the day. So pretty!

Romance: Part 4

Well, I'm obviously smarter than you. I married you and you married me.
-Joe

Sunning

Slippahs need sunshine, too.

Seen outside Saunders Hall...

A Year Older

Last week I celebrated my 29th birthday. Looking back, I have to say, my twenties have been good to me. I'm grateful to all of my wonderful friends and family who have always made sure that I had epic and amazing celebrations! I had so much fun this year that I thought I should relive it with you, the internet, in a series of blurry, low light photographs! Thanks for a fun night, Hawaii friends!

My wonderful husband made dinner before we hit Waikiki.

Starting the evening off right: Bar 5-0, Tristan, and a mai tai!

Elise and I were photo-bombed by T-Baum.

Murray and Tyler got me a shoe. That they found on a fire hydrant.

Jazz hands! Kristina and Elise got me the beautiful leis that I'm wearing.

Yay Maria! That drink is called a Lava Lava Flow Flow. No joke.

My birthday twin, Gerkemeister D. I had it first, though.

Thanks, T-Baum for being the photographer for the evening!

With Brie at Kelley O'Neil's. Her lovely girlfriend was here somewhere, too.

So glad Kina came out! She and Matthew kept pulling me onto the dance floor.

The gang. Thanks, guys!

So, how do we top this for my thirtieth?

Scavenger Hunt: Part 3

Man upside down with a duck balanced on his feet.  The duck must be wearing a hat - 1000 points

Attempt #1- Joe disqualified it because the duck doesn't look like a duck.

The was the winning shot.

Empty Soy Sauce container - 50 points

Used chop sticks - 50

Peanut butter...

Beach Ball (not on the ground) - 50 points

Frisbee - 50 points

Car with only one hubcap on one side - 100 points

Animal wearing clothing - 100 points

Sign written in Spanish or French - 100 points

Almost everything in Hawaii is written in Chinese or Japanese.

A printed scavenger hunt list that wasn't printed on our printer - 50 points

We totally killed the 1250 point total. We were hoping for total completion, but we ran out of time and it would have been expensive to park in Waikiki, though that is where burnt tourists and clothing wearing animals are sure to be seen.

Hawaii folks: what would you put on the scavenger hunt list and how many points would you award it? Leave 'em in the comments!

5:30 AM

Monday/Wednesday/Friday have become very early days. Why? Great question. Because we've all lost our minds. Koko Head: my nemesis (sorry, Steve, it has stolen your place).

How does a person wake up this early? You listen to this in the car on your way (if you are one of the lucky people never to have heard or seen this ridiculous video, please skip over it and continue on to the pretty pictures):




I have to (grudgingly) admit that Hawaii is still good at being pretty at 5:30am.

Sunrise looking towards Molokai from base of Koko Head.

Standing in the same place looking back to the West.

Sunrise at 6:15am looking out at the "ugly mountain" as Cher and I have now nicknamed Koko Head. We are waiting for enough light to start yoga. The boys are already climbing the ugly mountain.

7:15am

We are clearly insane. 7:30am, headed home.

Scavenger Hunt: Part 2

I know you are dying to know how we did. We started racking up points so quickly that Joe changed the total to 1250 points. Here are the pictures:

Somoene Dancing - 100 points

An object with at least four distinct colors on it. - 50 points

A limo - 50 points

A street sign without an "K", "P", "I", "L", "E" or "A". in it. - 200 points.

We were told "Ave" and "Street" wouldn't count against us, but Joe told us 4th Av was cheap.

So we found other street signs.

A garbage can that says "Thank You" on it (Not "Mahalo") - 50 points

Joe didn't count this. The paper says "thank you," not the can.

Novelty Mailbox - 100 points.

Lucky find: we pulled into this driveway to turn around when Murray spotted this gem.

Vanity Licence plate - 100 points

We found this, but I didn't get the picture, sadly. It said "TRILL"

A pepper container that says the word "Pepper" on it - 50 points

Advertisement for children's clothing - 50 points

 Want to know how we did with the guy and the duck? Stay tuned...