HAPPY SAINT PATRICK'S DAY!!!

Aloha my beautiful AMAZING family, my lovely BEAUTIFUL friends and all you CRAZY KIDS who have taken a breather to read my healthy and happy blog...

I know I said in my last blog that I was going to talk more about stress but... It's SAINT PATTIES DAY!!! I just had the best corned beef and cabbage complete with boiled potatoes and Irish soda bread!!! AWESOMENESS!!! Made me SERIOUSLY miss my Grandma's cooking. I MISS MY GRANDMA!

MORE IMPORTANTLY... Yesterday was my BEAUTIFUL LITTLE SISTER'S 20TH BIRTHDAY!!! Seriously folks... how did time fly by soooo quickly. I was twelve when my parents brought my new little sister home. My mom told me to lay down on her bed and she placed little Leimaile on my chest. She was so small and cute. She fell asleep on me in ten minutes.

Leimaile!!!

I remember swinging her onto my shoulders and running around with her at Kipapa Park. I remember brushing her hair and singing her to sleep. "Don't lose your way, with each passing day. You've come so far, don't throw it away. Valley, mountain, there is a fountain... washes your tears all away..." Remember that song? Yeah. I'd sing that to Leimaile every night. That and Silent Night in Hawaiian.

Now my little baby sister is 20. AMAZING.

Our Daddy with Leimaile and Kepa.

She is no longer a baby. She is no longer a child. She stopped being a teenager just a few hours ago.

So where am I going with this GUSH about my little sister? I want to talk about TIME. In my TWENTIES I concentrated on everything. I was a double major at University of Hawaii in Hilo. I got my degree and left as soon as I could. I moved to the BIG CITY. I was an ACTRESS. I lived in NYC and LA exploring every avenue I could to make my dreams a reality. In LA, I went back to my roots in writing. I began a novel. In my TWENTIES I worked in about twenty different bars and restaurants from Hawaii to NYC. In my TWENTIES I became that big sister that would visit my family at least once a year. In the greater part of my sisters young life, I was nonexistent.

Do I regret anything in my TWENTIES... Nah. Regret is a waste of time. I am Thirty-Two now. Am I any wiser? Geez... I sure hope so. I grew up and I realized that no matter where in the world I am and what I am doing, my FAMILY is MOST IMPORTANT. Keeping in SOLID CONTACT with the ones you love is GOLDEN. If you don't love them and if they are not important to you then by all means... let them go. IF YOU LOVE THEM... TELL THEM! Time is ever moving and ever changing. It is one of the things that all beings have in common. TIME. One day we will not have any left.

Leimaile Ku'upolialoha, my SISTER... I love you. You are an AMAZING and BEAUTIFUL woman...

So... This episode of HAPPYNATHANIEL is dedicated to MY LITTLE SISTER. I had a discussion with her about the STRESSORS in her life as a YOUNG ADULT. 

SISTER PILI (SP): Welcome back to my blog BABY SISTER!!! HAPPY 

BIRTHDAY!!! SQUEEZE!!! (We hug.) 

SISTER LEIMAILE (SL): THANK YOU MY TITA!!!

SP: So Leimaile, how are you minimizing your stress? 

SL: Before I talk about minimizing my stress, let me talk about WHY I'm so stressed. During the second semester of my freshman year of college I decided that I would triple major in Journalism, Communications, and Hawaiian language. I WILL BE be a HAWAIIAN BROADCAST JOURNALIST one day. I also want to study abroad for one semester and still graduate in four years! In order to do everything I have to do credit overload a few semesters. So last semester I took 21 credits while working four days a week, and it was completely manageable. 

SP: I remember that... YOU ROCKED IT!

SL: YEAH I DID!!! This semester is a WHOLE other story. I registered for 21 credits again but forgot to take into account that two of my classes are Writing Intensive. And one of my classes is like two in one. Didn't expect that one. I won't go into detail about how much I have due each week, but just know that it's a lot and I am STRESSED OUT!

SP: WOAH MONKEY... slow down!!! Take a breath! 

SL: I know, I know. I'm not stressed anymore. So how am I minimizing my stress? After a really hard week where everything that could possibly go wrong, went wrong, mom noticed something was up when you guys came over to visit. She and YOU, my tita, helped me realize just how stressed out I was and what I should do about it. You also helped me realize how stubborn I was being, that I took on too much, and that something had to give.

SP: Yeah... You were pretty bad off, my Tita. Mom and I were pretty worried. What are you doing about it?

SL:  I'm cutting down my work schedule to two days a week, maybe even down to one. AND I'm dropping my third major in communications and going down to a double major in Journalism and Hawaiian. I think  I'm gaining the right amount of skills I need from my Journalism courses in order to be a successful Journalist one day. We'll see. But I'm happy with my decision. Look! Your favorite word! I'm a HAPPYLEIMAILE!!! I'm a HAPPYNATHANIEL! Thank you my tita! Thank you mom.

SP: BE HAPPY! DO WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY!!! How do you USUALLY minimize your stress?

SL: Sing. Surf. Skate. Sleep. That's what I usually do to minimize my stress. These are a few of my favorite things I love to do. They make me happy. I sing, hum, whistle all the time. I surf whenever I have time to and MAKE time to go night surfing every full moon. I skateboard EVERYWHERE because walking takes too long and it's like surfing on land. And I sleep whenever I'm tired. Anywhere, anytime, however long I want to. I don't know why some people are so against sleeping, sleep is good :)

SP: SLEEP IS GOOD. Sleep is the way your body resets and heals itself. I don't think some people are necessarily AGAINST sleep... It's just that some can't relax and de-stress enough to shut down. What're you doing to keep healthy?

SL: Well, I'm not gonna lie, keeping healthy is something I definitely need work on. I wish I could say that I exercise and eat healthy like you and the rest of the cousins you've interviewed, but I don't. I personally think I'm unhealthy. The only exercise I get on a daily basis is from skateboarding from class to class. I haven't "worked out" since high school and have never watched what I ate... Yeaah, I'm the other "skinny bitch of a cousin who eats whatever she wants" you mentioned in your first post about willpower. Oh the joys of having a high metabolism! That goes away though, I know that, so I definitely needa start making time to exercise.

SP:  I almost didn't print what you just wrote!!! BAD MONKEY! All you have to do is make YOUR HEALTH a priority. Don't go crazy about it... but you need to begin to develop HEALTHY HABITS that will last. It is also a frame of mind. Skateboarding and surfing is EXERCISE... just make more time for it. You don't have to join a gym or lift weights to exercise.  Drink more water and less Lilikoi Juice. Eat more salads. Eat good protein. So... MY SISTER, What are you going to do to keep healthy? 

SL: Physically? Just that. Make time to exercise. I am going to start exercising every Tuesday and Thursday after class for at least an hour before I go home. I'm paying for the gym in my tuition, so I may as well start using it. And drink more water. After your blog about cleansing, I realized that I haven't been drinking enough water and I need to get on that. Mentally? Cutback hours at work so I have more time to study and GO SURFING during the DAY. Lately I've been surfing more at night than during the day. And full moon is only once a month. I need to surf more.

SP: I love you my little sister. Be well. Don't stress. FOR ALL OF MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS... BREATHE. Be HAPPY. On Wednesday I'll talk about what happens when you let Stress rule your life.

Until next time my family and friends. I leave you with one more treat from the kitchen of AUNTY LORIE (Thank you AUNTY!):

Tofu Surprise Salad

2 blocks tofu - drain and cube
1 pkg bean sprouts
1 bunch watercress
1 sm sweet onion
1 medium cucumber
1/2 pkg alfalfa or clover sprouts
1 can salmon or tuna (drain liquid)
1 medium tomato diced
3 boiled eggs diced

In pan, layer each ingredient as follows: tofu, sprouts, watercress, onion, cucumber, alfalfa sprouts, calmon and end with diced tomato. Sprinkle diced eggs on salad. Chill.

Dressing

2 Tbsp sesame oil
2 Tbsp veg oil
1/4 cup shoyu
1/4 cup vinegar
1/2 cup sugar

Heat the sesame oil and salad oil in saucepan. Remove pan to counter top and add shoyu, vinegar and sugar. return pan to burner and cook for a few minutes. Cool before pouring into jar and chill in refrigerator.

This is a pic of my Dad's version! SO ONO!!!