One Ringlet to Rule Them All

My hair stylist said my new haircut creates "movement" to suit my natural wave. Agreed, but when I looked in the mirror Sunday, I also thought I looked a little like Frodo the Hobbit. Ken decided to take that a step further.

65, windy & overcast = Sakai/Moore BBQ

Photo by Brett Jungbluth

(Sigh.) This year we moved the BBQ from the usual late September date to Saturday, August 11th hoping it would afford more pleasant evening grilling weather. Well in it's third year, there's at least one thing we can count on at this event: the sound of teeth chattering as the hamburgers are served.

Photo by Brett Jungbluth (Brett's pictures are really good and I prefer them to mine which is why I keep intermingling them here.)

Despite the weather, it was a damn good party. What lucky people we are to have such cool friends, co-workers and neighbors who can inter-mingle and bring such fun times to our home and garden. Children also add an extra energy that is vital to our BBQs. Since we have a number of toddler-guests now, I've realized how "adult-ized" our backyard is. Cement steps, uneven flagstone slabs, sloped paths, delicate grasses & low, step-on-able plants... Actually the challenge it poses could be tons more fun than a lawned yard with a fence and patio slab. But the younger kids enjoyed doing laps up the steps over the flagstones down the steps across the bricks, over and over again.

(Owen dashing past)

While the older ones seems to like the fire pit and the roasting of marshmallows for smores. But once fire was lit, all the running of laps by the toddlers had to stop. Kids and fire. They go together like a bottle of Bourbon and a fully charged cell phone...

Ken and I learn things every year in an effort to improve and refine our BBQ hosting skills. Just last week we carefully watched Suzanne and Sam (Sumeer) as they hosted a 20-25 person BBQ and grilled multiple meats. Unfortunately, a last minute illness kept them from receiving some BBQ reciprocation from us on Saturday but Ken and I kept referring to them by saying things like, "Sam, had a plate and served the cooked food from here." "Suzanne staged the condiments like this." It's not hard to BBQ--what's all the fuss right? Well, the good ones make it look easy. This year we also added the fire pit (big hit) and some 6' fold-up plastic tables from Home Depot that made a world of difference from last year's feeble attempt at using a card table and TV trays as a staging table. But this year I realized we don't have enough plastic servingware. Bowls for chips and such. So that will be among next year's improvements.

We also tried to blend two types of parties that maybe shouldn't go together: BBQ + Karaoke. In retrospect I think we'll stick to one or the other because it can really break up a party. But we had some stellar performances from Dan, Christina, Ken, Allen & Norma. But the highlight for me was witnessing Denise at 8 months pregnant belt out Def Leppard's Love Bites. I had also forgotten what a consumate hit that song was (check out Def Leppard's hair-iffic music video).

Brett's photo album of the event HERE. My photo album (but not as good as Brett's) HERE.

Chocolate Rain to Eyebrow waxing in 15 seconds

Thoughts I've had in the last 15 seconds in order:

1. Why is this Chocolate Rain Video so damn popular?
2. I hope it doesn't rain during our BBQ on Saturday.
3. That bread we made last Saturday totally needed the fast-acting yeast because it didn't rise.
4. Why did the stock for (company I work for that shall remain nameless) go down so much?
5. I need to go downtown and get my eyebrows waxed.

6. This is stupid, time for bed.

Shark-tastic

It's Shark Week on the Discovery Channel, people!

How I do love Shark Week. If you couldn't tell from my header, I'm a big fan of the finned ones. Ever since I was a little girl, I've been fascinated by them. When I was 6 or 7, I innocently sat down one night with my parents while they were watching Jaws on TV and it changed my life forever. Not only was I terrified to sit on the toilet for several days in fear that a shark would come up through the 4 inches of water in the bowl but I had learned of an animal that in its very image ignited a primal fear in people. It was amazing to think that there was such beast.

A year later I asked for a birthday cake with Jaws on it and whenever an ocean documentary was on TV, I would hope to see some shark footage. I learned more about these misunderstood creatures as I grew older and realized (as they say in all the documentaries now) that sharks really aren't out to get humans. Great Whites, Bull & Tiger Sharks are the top 3 types of sharks prone to attacking humans. But they tend to attack because they mistake humans for something delicious and nutritious like seals. The Great Whites are just unbelievably cool in their shape and features: streamlined, graceful, menacing and regal--worthy of great respect. I like all sharks but the Great Whites are my favorite.

When I was 21 and down visiting friends in California that summer, I decided to indulge a crazy notion that I should get a tattoo. I had been thinking about it for a good two years (as one should when considering getting a tattoo--it's a big commitment, just like marriage or a mortgage). And immediately I knew what it should be of. The one symbol that I have constantly gravitated toward. But not some stupid caricature, something classy. I looked through all the books and decided on this design because it looked almost tribal . And sometimes I feel that if I had a spirit animal or an Aumakua (benevolent guardian spirit in the Hawaiian tradition) the shark would definitely be it.

This is a somewhat stylized rendering of a hammerhead shark. Here is a picture of my tat about 2 days after it was done. I worked very hard to conceal it from my father for the 3 days before going back to college. When I returned for Christmas and he saw it...oh the disappointment. He stormed out of the room and upon returning 10 minutes later he said,"I hope it hurt." Let me assure you, it did.

I have never dived with sharks--only watched them on TV or in aquariums. My dream is to one day go to South Africa where the Great Whites leap out of the water and into the air as they hunt for seals. It is an amazing phenomenon.

I am not interested in cage diving however. I'm a bit claustrophobic so that would not work on many levels.