Family Traditions

When the holidays come around it stirs up memories for me.  I think about when I was growing up.  How different life was then.  We only had a few channels on TV and we lived for the night when the Christmas shows were on.  Rudolf, Santa Claus and maybe How the Grinch Stole Christmas; if I was brave enough to watch that one.  My mom would always bake a ton of different sweets.  Some of our family favorites are fudge made with marshmallow fluff, creamy caramels (which turned out hard some years), cookies of all kinds, Chex mix, haystacks and many others.  My sister in Oregon made caramels yesterday while her grandchildren were over.  Today I am going to bake with my kiddos and continue those holiday traditions. 

My mother was English.  Her family traveled to California by ship around the horn of South America from Cornwall, England.  When they settled in the foothills of the Sierra's they worked in the mines.  You can image that is was dark and cold so having a warm meal during your shift was a must.  The women would make them a meat filled turnover called a pasty.  Not a pastey, but a pasty.  Click here for more on the  History of the Pasty. 

The pasty was wrapped in newspaper and put in a "lunch pale".  The men would hang the pale over a candle to keep it warm.  My family adds potatoes and onions and seasons with parsley, salt and pepper.  Today you can make a short cut by using premade pastry dough, although there is nothing better than homemade.  It just takes a little more prep time.  

Yesterday I made pasties for my family.  My kids love them.  They are a simple 1 dish meal that makes my heart warm.  Oh and my mother ALWAYS served pasties with a Pepsi.  It really is a must as the pasties can seem rich with the pastry and meat.  Plus we cut ours open and dollop with butter and ketchup.  Talk about comfort food!

As time has passes I long for the things that make me feel warm and comfortable, like when times were simple; when I was little girl.  No worries, no responsibilities, just living life.  When the holidays come around I miss my parents, my Nana and of course my love, Doug.  The little things like baking, decorating with the things that I have seen since childhood and sending/receiving Christmas cards make me feel like I am not just living life, but 

Living Life Out Loud.

Culture for your kids

When I was a kid growing up my parents were patrons of the arts.  They had season tickets to 2 theaters in San Francisco and spent every other Saturday in the "City" (as we call it) going to watch a show and dine out with friends.  Subsequently I also spent a lot of time in the "City".  Whether we were shopping, site seeing or dining out.  All of which are my favorite activities to this day.  

As I am now a parent I find it easy to stay at home with little kids.  I mean, it takes real effort to prepare for the day, load up, entertain and stay cheery with antsy little boys in the car or waiting in line for something.  But what I have come to learn is the more you do things with your kids the better they are at being in public.  Taking them out to eat can be a challenge for a 3 year old.  But if you are consistent with your efforts, they become a very patient 4 year old.

So this year I took the boys to San Francisco for the lighting of the tree in Union Square and site seeing in the city.  We walked to Coit Tower and saw the "City" from a bird's eye view.  We enjoyed the Merry Go Round at Pier 39.  We watched the street performers along Fisherman's Wharf.  Rode a cable car to Union Square; which stalled and we had to get a push start up hill.  After watching the tree lighting ceremony along with thousand's of other holiday onlookers we caught a taxi back to where we stayed the night.  When we awoke we drove across the Golden Gate Bridge and stopped for photo op.  


This was a memory that I will always cherish.  The boys want to go again next year and go to Chinatown and eat in Little Italy.  Sounds like a plan to me!

So the next time you decide to just stay at home, push yourself to go out instead.  Create a passion for culture in your kids.  

Teach them to Live Life Out Loud Culturally.  

MY SPECIAL PLACE

My first trip to Maui was in 1979.  I was 8 years old.  My parents, my Nana and my sister traveled to Oahu for my dad to teach a course at the University of Hawaii, then we traveled to Maui for an additional week.  I don't remember much about that trip, but my parents fell in love with Maui.  We returned in 1985 to celebrate my sister's high school graduation.  My parents then invested in a condo in Kihei Town and we returned every year until my mother sold in 2000.

Every visit I make to Maui I am remember the fun that was had during my visits with family and many friends...

• 1986 Shannon and I visited July.  The winds were strong and a screen flew off of the 3rd story and hit me in the head.  A hot ash landed in my eye on the 4th of July after my dad encouraged me to roll down the window of the car to get a better view of the fireworks.  We took a catamoran to Molokini snorkeling and the waves were pretty big.  I "fed the fish" the entire trip.  (which means vomited)
•   1987 with Stephanie.  We swam in every pool on the way to Hana.  We had drinks with my parents and went night swimming every night.  We learned never to over indulge on the blackened fish dishes.  Poor Stephanie paid the price for that.  Lots of laughter and good times had.  Steph is still a great friend to be around.
• 1988 with Terry.  Boy did we have fun.  Because Terry was used to flying by herself as a kid and I was in Maui for a month with parents, Terry came for part of the trip.  She had to teach me the song girl routine for cheerleading camp so that I would be caught up when I returned home.  We met some cool wind surfers from South Africa which we thought was totally awesome.  
• 1989 with Kerry after high school graduation.  Of course we met some more boys.  That year is was all about how tan we could get.  Kerry won, of course.
• in the 90's I visited Maui with my college boyfriend, my college roommate and spent a summer with a group of my sorority sisters working summer jobs.  We had so much!!!  That was when I learned about being a Kaimaina (local).  We worked in the evenings and partied all night long.  We would cure our hang overs in the sun by the pool or at the beach.  We met so many people.  It was a summer never to forget.  
• 1998 Doug and I were married on March 30 in Waliea.  We had 15 people in attendance.  It was a dream come true.  Love you, Dougie.
• 1999 we returned with our mothers.  It was a nice trip, but not the same without my dad.
• On 10-10-10 Steve and I exchanged vows of love and promise in Kapalua.  Danielle and Ray were present.  It was the first time I had been away from both of children for such a long time period.  It was nice to have time with only Steve.  Something we have come to cherish in our relationship.

Maui is my special place.  I feel peace, joy and love when I am there.  I hope to someday make it my permanent place of residence.  I hope you have a special place where you can 

LIVE LIFE OUT LOUD.  

MAUI NO KA OI!