Update on Tickets to Guam

Ok, Freedom Air flies to Guam round trip for $183.00 per person (with a breif 20 minute stop over in Rota). The plane is a 30 seater. That's not very big...

Has anyone ever taken Freedom Air to Guam before? How was it?

Imperial Suites has a special Deluxe Room and Car package for $90.00 plus 10% tax. That sounds like a pretty good deal to me.

Anyone, gone to Guam lately and gotten a better deal?

Do tell!

Thanks and Have a Great Weekend Everyone!!

(Doesn' t it feel like the weekends are rolling around really fast lately? Oh, and why isn't spell check working anymore? Is anyone else having that problem or is it just my blog??? I NEED SPELL CHECK!)

Friday Food Fest III

I got a slow cooker for Christmas and I have been wearing it out with my Cornbeef and Cabbage obsession. I needed to try something new, so here is a recipe that I normally make in my oven, but it also works with my slow cooker/crock pot.


Recipe Ingredients

4 pork chops (or more if you have a bigger family :)
1 tablespoon cooking oil
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1 10-3/4-ounce can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1-2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms

Note: You can also add 1/2 cup of water or broth if you don't want your gravy too thick. I like mine thick!

Recipe Method

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat,add pork chops and brown evenly.
Drain off fat.
Place browned pork chops in slow cooker
Throw in diced onion, mushroom soup,Worcestershire sauce, and mushrooms

Note: You can also add some crushed garlic or garlic powder if you like.


Cover and cook on high-heat setting for 4-6 hours.


UNCOVER AND CHOW!

A slow cooker is especially great if your a working woman. Just throw every in the cooker in the morning set it on "low" and when you get home from work 8 hours later, you have dinner all ready.

Bon Appetit!

Thursday Thoughts III

The week went by so fast I totally forgot to post this yesterday. Well, better late than never...


And since I am still trying to decide if I should fork out the mula to go shopping on Guam or just stay home, the question for today is :


Where is your favorite place to shop on island and why? (Make sure to tell me what kind of bargains I can get if I shop there and/or if they specialize in anything)


Comment now!!!

ARGH!

Do you know how much it costs to fly round trip to Guam???


$236.00


That's absolutely ridiculous!!!!!!!

We want to take the kids shopping for the weekend but can't swallow paying $944.00 for 4 tickets not to mention rental car and hotel accomodations...

Bummers!

Who Didn't???

Reliving the 80's

Who didn't want to attend the New York Academy of Performing arts and braid Leroy Johnson's hair???

Who didn't want to attend Eastland and go boy crazy with Natalie and Tootie??

Who didn't want to head over to the Reagle Beagle for a scotch on the rocks at happy hour with Jack and Crissy?

Who didn't want to be as sarcastic as Sophie when dealing with their kid?

Who didn't want to do hang out with Chachi over at Arnold's?

Who didn't wonder why Dr. David Banners pants didn't fall of like his shirt did when he turned into the incredible hulk?

Who didn't wonder if Kate and Ally were closet lesbians?

Who didn't wish they could macgyver as many things as MacGyver could?

Who didn't wish that Mork and Mindy would just get it on already?

Who didn't figure out who the killer was long before Jessica Fletcher did?

Who didn't wonder if Punky's mom was ever caught and arrested for abandoning her and Brandon at the mall?

Who didn't think Dr. Quincy was like the smartest man ever?

Who didn't totally want to go shopping with Monroe?

Who didn't watch Unsolved Mysteries religiously because you just knew sooner or later you would be able to solve one?

Who didn't wish they were as cute as Winnie Cooper and have a boy that looked like Kevin crushing on them?



I know I did...tell me I wasn't alone????? : )~

Post Secrets...

http://postsecret.blogspot.com/

In post secret fashion

He passed away 14 years ago yesterday Jan. 28th...but I remember the date as the
29th because it was the 29th when I got the news here in Saipan...miss ya Dad!

Coco's

The only place I know of that you can get soup, salad bar, steak, ice cream and an Ice tea for $10 bucks!

This was Ulu's salad actually..I had potato salad which was pretty good!


YUM!
Cream of mushroom soup.
Steak medium rare please! You can also choose seafood or chicken.

Vanilla ice cream or coffee to end your meal..or pay a couple bucks more and get both!

Great deal when your extra HUNGRY...which I usually am!

Donkey nuts...

Lil-Hammerhead's blog on "BUTT AID" didn't surprise me at all. Not after I found these on the shelves of Joeten a couple weeks ago :

"Ass Kickin' Peanuts" that are "Kick Yo' Ass Hot!"

I Freaked out when I saw these, so of course I had to buy them. I don't even say "ass" infront of my mom (at least not on purpose..he he). I wonder what's next??? Yo' mamma's so fat cereal? Biatch Crackers???

R.I.P. Little Lady aka Moli

TRAGIC! Our one eyed kitty was killed this past weekend. We had let her out of the house as we normally do. I was going about my business inside and the kids were going about theirs. My son went to take some water outside for her and she was just fine sitting on her favorite perch. About an hour later we had just got dressed to go to town and were looking for her and she was not around the house. This was normal as she sometimes would walk next door and look around but would always come straight back home. We weren't going to be gone for long so we went ahead and left. About 1o feet out our driveway we found Moli laying on the side of the road dead. She had been hit by a car. Moli was never seen to go in the direction of the road before and had to cross a deep drainage ditch to get to the road way where she was hit. It was very strange. On top of that, the windows of my house had been open and I can hear pretty well the cars passing by. I never once heard the screeching of tires. No one stopped after hitting her to see if she had an owner. Whoever hit her just kept going. I felt really bad that the kids had to see Moli like that for the last time. I was and still am angered that someone would speed so fast down that road that they did not have a chance to react and maybe slow down or try to avoid hitting her. Yes, I realize that sometimes when animals are out on the streets or near the roads it may be unavoidable that they may get hit. In high-insight, I probably should not have let her out of the house ever..I guess I just never imaged that would happen to her. I have driven on this island for 20 years and I have never run over a dog or cat. Maybe I'm one of the few lucky ones. I see so many dead animals on the road, it obviously happens quite often. I have had a couple close calls, but fortunately I was able to safely slow down or swerve to avoid hitting the animal.

I wouldn't wish this type of pet death on anyone, but I do think if more people knew how sad it was for a family to loose a pet this way, they would surely slow down when driving and try to avoid hitting cats or dogs who may have ventured away from home.

We will miss our one eyed kitty.

Friday Food Fest II

Today I'm going to share one of my "secret recipes" with you, "Coconut Curry Ribs".
This recipe is soooo easy, and super delicious! My kids absolutely LOVE this stuff!

Recipe Ingredients

1 Family pack or Family bag of pork ribs. ( I usually get the ones that are cut really short like for soup, they are much easier to eat once cooked. I find that the bones in these ribs add a lot of flavour to this curry)

2 Cans of Coconut Milk

1 Package of Golden Curry (You can use another brand but Golden seems to be the most available on island and it comes in mild, medium and hot. I use the medium because I like mine a little spicy)

1 onion chopped

Recipe Method

Boil the pork ribs in fresh water for 1 hour or until meat is just about tender. (your going to have to test one of the ribs to check for tenderness. I have found that every time I make this recipe the length of time I have to boil the ribs to get them tender always varies..sometimes it takes half an hour sometime almost two. I guess it all depends on the quality of the ribs. Your going to boil them again for complete tenderness later.)

Drain water

pour in two cans of Coconut Milk and bring to a boil again.

Add half a package of Golden Curry mix and stir well. (If you like thicker or stronger curry you can add the whole package, if you like a milder thinner curry, just add one or two squares. Your best bet is to add one square at at time and stir while it dissolves, you can then add more until you get the thickness and taste you desire. If you throw the whole package in at once, there is no going back :)

Throw in your chopped onion

Allow to boil long and slow in the coconut milk curry until the meat is completely tender and practically falls off the bone.

Stir occasionally.

Pictured is Chicken Coconut Curry


NOTE : I have also used shrimp, chicken, and soft shell crab. You can totally skip the first step of boiling to tenderize with shrimp, chicken or crab (and with the power rates, that's a good thing). They all come out just as delicious..actually anything cooked in coconut milk and curry would probably come out Delicious..ha ha...

Bon Appetit!

News Flash

Update : Yikes! Kyle asked me not to spread the word about bringing a guest because the meeting will already be jam packed with Chamber and HANMI members, so if you try and sneak in as a guest....you didn't hear it from me..ok...shhh!


This was sent to Saipan Chamber Members today. If your not a member of HANMI or The Chamber you may want to see if one of the members can bring you in as a guest...if your interested..


Members,

We have arranged with the Department of Labor a presentation and question/answer session to be held Friday, February 1 for all members of the Chamber of Commerce and HAMNI.

Those attending on behalf of the Department will include Deanne Siemer, who has been integrally involved in the drafting of the regulations, Labor Director Barry Hirshbein, Jeff Camacho of Enforcement, Alice Concepcion of Employment Services, and Department legal counsel Eleanor Nisperos.

This is a unique opportunity to receive a concise overview of the PL 15-108 regulations (which are scheduled to go into effect on that day) and to ask questions (and hear others’ questions) and receive answers from the individuals who have been responsible for the drafting of, and will be responsible for the interpretation and enforcement of, the new labor regulations.

This will be held at the Multipurpose Center in Susupe on Friday, February 1, from 10:00 a.m. to noon.

Kyle Calabrese

"Thursday Thoughts II"

Update: I ate lunch at Truong's again today (Ulu's request) He had the New York Steak and it was $20.95. Still a good deal for such a delicious steak!

Today's question is very self serving because I love to eat out and sometimes I run out of ideas for where to go or what to eat, soooo...............

What is your favorite Restaurant on island and what is the BEST thing on their menu???

If you want to tell me more about their service, DO TELL!

Hurry now, comment!

Burt's Bees

I LOVE THIS STUFF!

If you have never tried Burt's Bees products you just have to...no, really, you do! What's even better than the products themselves is that it's an environmental friendly company.

Taken from their web site..

Taking care of the environment is part of the DNA of Burt's Bees — it's inherently part of how we do business. Since the company began in 1989, we built our business on the foundation of Earth friendly natural personal care. We believe that in order to take from nature, we must protect and provide for nature — it's a cycle that we respect and preserve.


All of the products are at least 99% Natural. Another excerpt from their page :

We believe natural products should be 100% natural.
Our products average 99% natural, with half being 100% natural. We will continue to strive for 100% natural on all our products, investigating all ingredients and the latest technologies to create the best products for your greatest well-being and never using any ingredient that has any potential suspected human health risks.



Aside from all of that, the products smell AMAZING! The Almond milk hand creme smells so good you will want to lick it off..ok, so maybe you won't, but I know you will LOVE the smell!

I got my latest supply of Burt's Bees as a Christmas Gift, but they sell some of the products at ABC store in Garapan. If you can't get what you want or are looking for over there, you can always shop on line at their web site

http://www.burtsbees.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/StoreView?langId=-1&storeId=10001&catalogId=10051

Age only matters if you're cheese...

"36" was a year of many BIG firsts for me :

1st time to meet my biological Grandfather

1st time to travel with my bf and my mom (what a fun experience! although my mom might not agree..ha ha)

1st time to get Engaged :)

1st time for one of my children to "leave the nest"

"36" was a GREAT year!

The proposal..You can see I was totally in shock and unprepared..I didn't even fix my hair..teehee!

Mom and I getting out of the cold and having some Coffee at Uncle Bill's pancake house in Cape May, New Jersey

My oldest daughter, Tia swearing in the day before she left to join the USCG. That's Tia, me and Anton Ngata from Guam who joined the same day as Tia.

Mom, me and my Grandfather, Glen Dale at his house in Carthage, Missouri

I'm so looking forward to what being "37" has in store for me!

Tomorrow I will start to find that out :)

Mimi

We adopted her from PAWS a couple weeks ago and she is so adorable!
She seems to have doubled in size since we got her. Of course she eats and eats and eats and eats so that might explain it. She is definitely a character. She's got A LOT of attitude!
"whatchu lookin' at??"
Our house now has two GREEN EYED trouble makers!

Because Inquiring minds want to know...

Just got back from checking out the "Federalization without Representation" motorcade. I counted exactly 105 cars coming out of fishing basin, plus three police escorts. So I would say, since the average family has two cars on this island..roughly about 50 families..The only people I recognized were Greg Cruz's wife Jean and blogger Bruce Bateman.

Looks like the people have spoken once again, clearly in favor of Federalization, since this anti-federalization rally is not even a close comparison to the "Unity March" and its 10-15,000 plus participants...

Friday Food Fest I

(I'm doing another "meme")

JAMBALAYA


The only thing I love to do more than cook, is EAT! So in the spirit of my new love for "meme's" , every Friday I'm going to try to share one of my favorite recipes with you. This Friday I'm sharing one of my absolute favorite comfort foods, JAMBALAYA (it's also one of my favorite songs *Jambalaya, a-crawfish pie and-a file gumbo'Cause tonight I'm gonna see my ma cher amio *) Ok, enough singing...

Here is my recipe for my fairly simple version of it :


RECIPE INGREDIENTS
2-3 Tablespoons of vegetable oil

1/2 pound of Sausage ( I have used all different kinds. I prefer polish sausage or something not too spicy, but if you like spicy by all means use hot or spicy sausage.)

1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced

1 Cans of chopped tomatoes (Some people prefer to use fresh celery and bell peppers or other vegies..I'm allergic to bell peppers and I love tomatoes, so I usually throw in a can or two of chopped or stewed tomatoes for more flavor)
1 1/2 cups rice (I normally use long grain or "American" type rice, I have no idea if Calrose will work in this recipe, but if your brave enough, try it! Oh, and Joeten sometimes carries Saffron rice, I used that once and it was DELICIOUS!)

3 cups chicken broth ( I have used water when I didn't have broth..not as tasty but works)
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 Bay Leaves
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 pound cleaned shrimp ( I have also used boneless skinless chicken instead of shrimp and its really good too...or use all three if you like..its up to you!)


RECIPE METHOD

Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat.
Add sausages and cook until browned.
Transfer sausages to cutting board. Cut sausages into 1/4-inch slices.
Pour off all but 2-3 tablespoons fat from the pan.
Add onion, and garlic to saucepan.
Cover and cook over medium-low heat until onions become clear looking, about 3 minutes.
Add rice, broth, chopped tomatoes, sausage, cayenne, bay leaves and salt. Bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer 15 minutes.
Stir in shrimp. Cover and simmer until shrimp is just done and rice is tender, about 3 minutes longer.
Remove from heat. Let stand, covered, about 2 minutes.


*NOTE : Joeten use to carry JAMBALAYA seasoning in it's seasoning section (I'm not sure if they still do) but I bought it one time and it makes this recipe a lot simpler since you don't need to add that salt, bay leaves and cayenne pepper, just use the ready made seasoning. The seasoning also has a quick easy recipe on the back you can follow.



This is stuff is really good! If you haven't tried it before, now is your chance...The great thing about Jambalaya is it is so versatile..You can pretty much put in what ever you like, sausage, shrimp, chicken, muscles, etc...same with the veggies, you can use bell peppers, celery, tomatoes, okra, etc...

Let me know if you do try it and how it turns out!

"Thursday Thoughts I"

Deece has her "Wednesday What is it?" and I really enjoy reading everyone's answers on her blog, so I decided to try and start my own regular blog thingie (I have no idea what you call it) but I'm going to call mine "Thursday's Thoughts". Every Thursday I'm going to post a new question and whoever visits my blog has to answer the question in the comments section.
Simple as that :)

So we here go..

My first question :

If you could go on vacation anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?

Do tell!

I tried to make some "De-lurk" banners but they didn't really work out right..but here are my feeble attempts...

Some days I second guess my decision to allow my 17 year old baby to go off to serve her country in the USCG. Don't get me wrong, I'm very proud of her and her decision to go, but on days like this, I miss her so much, I wish I could have held on to her a little bit longer.....

Green Contact Lenses...

Pretty cool huh, ok not really since I already have green eyes..but according to Mirika they are even "GREENIER".

Girl Power...

Smirika, brianna, mika, savali, brissa, solana & Brandi -missing are daizy (serving in the US ARMY)and Tatiana (serving in the USCG) Thanks to my brothers and I (and our spouses past and present : ), my mom has 9 beautiful grandchildren. My son is the only male. When we have family get togethers, the results are usually something like this...

Hear Ye, Hear Ye...

All you Kukaracha's mus De-lurk and DO IT NOW! If you have stopped by my blog for any reason at all (even if it's just to use my links to jump to someone else's page) blogger or not, you MUST leave a comment. If you don't you remain in the realm of le-kakarocha!
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*

On another note, my niece Brissa has to be the smartest two year old in the world!


This weekend she was sitting on the stairs of my brother's house when she stuck her tongue out and me to make a funny face. I was super windy and something from the grass blew onto her tongue. She wiped it off immediately and exclaimed "DISGUSTING!"... I freaked out! What two year old uses those kinds of words??? She is so super smart and majorly adorable!!! She never ceases to amaze me!

~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*
Music calms the savage beast, and ice keki calms the rambunctious child!

The Perfect Day