Life of Larisa or LOL

When I first started this blog, I never dreamed that I would have an entry entitled "Lil' Chefs", let alone be instructing a cooking class for toddlers named...yes, "Lil' Chefs". A cooking class. For toddlers. Taught by me. Well, a lets make food, a mess, and eat mounds of cheese class. I stumbled (as with most great things in my life) upon this opportunity, a couple of weeks ago. Island Monkeez is a jewel hidden in the midst of another jewel--- Vim n' Vigor . Each week ten lil' chefs attend the Thursday cooking class with Auntie Risa! The first week we made quesadillas. For week two we made nachos. August was a Mexican theme. Can you tell?September is already upon us and I am excited for our next creation/exploration---"Rainbow Sushi". Pictures and further details forthcoming. The kids are loving the freedom to create (and eat!). I am loving their enthusiasm (and watching them eat!). The recipes are quick, simple, and mostly

And now, time for a little family promoting...my uncle that lives in California is the Owner/Chef of a wonderful pizza place. He's living the dream! His restaurant was recently recognized and I felt I had to share. So, if you ever find yourself in Arcadia, California...you know where to go to find GOOD EATS! Zelo Gourmet Pizza "Local haunts land on Mr. Gold's short list of 99 essential L.A. restaurants"

This morning we went to Starbucks . We had a weird experience. Sucking caramel through a straw seems to me an impossible task. Teenage boys who talk to them self in line and get you and the baristas confused doesn't add to the usual Starbucks ambiance either. The day perked up when we found front row beach parking in Lanikai . Umbrella up, buckets out, sunglasses lowered, sun blazing. Other than the ongoing discovery of baby Portuguese man of war by Gabe every five minutes, it was a perfect beach day. No Eiffel Tower sandcastles today, but the memory of today's beach outing lives on...in every nook and cranny of my car, clothes, beach book, and uh well, I'm sure you can figure out where else. Lanikai special---extra fine sand. We decided to fester in the grit awhile longer as we took the long way home. Sweet Home Waimanalo here we come! I had heard about this relatively new restaurant from friends. I had been wanting to check it out ever since but hadn't gotten over t

I have a cute pink book. A cute pink book of cupcake recipes. 500 cupcake recipes to be exact. Since I love cupcakes. Since I was just super inspired by the movie Julie and Julia . Since I am lucky enough to have some time...I'm going to try my hand at a cupcake recipe each week. Cupcake baking and running...balance. Too bad you can't taste things through the computer. I would love to share the moist, orange yumminess of the first cupcakes I have ever baked from scratch. That's right, no box mix, no "just add water"---full on, sugar, butter, egg, flour BAKING! Isom and Gabe were my tasters...um, helpers. One recipe down, 499 to go! Let's hope that's not how many pounds to be gained!

Not the winning boat. Oh well, today was fun (for me) anyway. At last week's school Open House , we saw a booth and flyer about Cub Scouts . As a former Girl Scout , I had been waiting for the moment when Gabe would be old enough to join in the fun---camping, badge earning, sewing, wood whittling---all the nerdy stuff that us non-athletic kids did. Yay nerds! Today was the Raingutter Regatta. Genius! The two scout masters were dressed as pirates and all the boys from Mililani Pack 464 were excited to race their boats---well, all except Gabe. He didn't have a boat. But the beauty of being at a Cub Scout event---they were prepared! "Mr. T", (Assistant Cub Scout leader) as he asked to be called, handed us all the tools we would need to make a boat--yes a BOAT, in under fifteen minutes. What a life skill. Armed with a hammer, a screwdriver, a pocket knife, and the official Cub Scout Raingutter Regatta Kit, Isom and Gabe (but mostly Isom) were working on their first Cub S

I will be having my own birthday party in honor of my favorite actor/musician KEANU REEVES this coming Wednesday, September 2nd . I suggest you all do the same. There are a number of great movies that you can enjoy to mark the special occasion. I have listed a top five... 1. The Lake House 2. Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure 3. Street Kings 4. The Devil's Advocate 5. Point Break There are also two Cd's I can recommend from Keanu's band Dogstar: 1. Quatrro Formagii 2. Happy Ending For further Keanu worship, check out these websites: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dogstar http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000206/ http://keanuconnection.com/keanu/name/ Happy Keanuing!

Once again my own photo can not do justice to the magnificent cupcake, so I have uploaded a "professional" one. Yesterday I had a cupcake date with Mai Ly (and three little kids). This might have to be (minus the kids?) a weekly ritual. I'll have to come up with a great work out routine to offset it though. I played proud auntie to Gavin again yesterday. I racked my brain to figure out what we could do before picking up Gabe from his half day at school. Cold Stone Creamery www.coldstonecreamery.com and 808 Bounce! www.808bounce.com The idea being sugar him up and then release the energy...then cross my fingers for a great nap! (It worked by the way). I contacted my other cupcake loving friend and it was a date! We were the only customers brave enough to offer kids an ice cream/ cake/chocolate/frosting cupcake at 10 a.m. (parents of the year, I know) but the kids had a ball and I was in heaven. The ice cream cupcake from Cold Stone was lip smacking delicious.

Single Parent Sunday. I shouldn't complain. Isom was the one who actually had to work on Sunday, but sometimes entertaining a six year old on a day that is typically devoted to "family time", can be draining. Solution? Off to Pearlridge www.pearlridgeonline.com . It is my Central Oahu one stop shop. There's the monorail, there's Borders (awesome kids section), Fun Factory, feral cats and mongoose fighting in the parking lot to watch, Farrell's, Starbucks! (not one, but two inside the mall), 808 Bounce, not to mention yummy restaurants such as CPK, Moe's, and a movie theater if you happen to be there all day. Pearlridge is also famous for the revolving exhibits they have. Currently there are several sculptures, for lack of a better word, made of canned food. Proving that art really can be anything . Highlights of the canned world can be seen in these pictures from my iPhone. Have I mentioned how handy it is?! The canned food masterpieces went th

Saturdays are always the designated "birthday party" day. Yesterday we enjoyed a "Cars" themed party for our friend Cooper who was turning three. I went to college with Cooper's mom and it's great to see how far we've all come since the often crazy college days. We drove to picturesque Kaneohe for the festivities. Our other college cronies and their kids were in attendance as well. Cooper's mom is definitely the artistic one of the group. She spent what must have been hours getting fun "Cars" themed crafts, decor ,and a delicious cake ready for Coop's big boy party. What is the recipe for that cake?! I was really wishing for another piece around nine o'clock last night. Since becoming a vegetarian over six months ago, I have attended many birthday parties, BBQ's , and events that aren't necessarily "veggie friendly". I don't expect for everyone to embrace my lifestyle choice. For thirty three years

Okay, there is a worse photographer than me... Isom . His handy work is above (and below). Blurry, blurry, blurry. It makes me feel so much better about my skills. We went to a free, trial gymnastics class this past Friday evening. If you squint just so, you might be able to make out Gabe climbing the yellow rope. When Gabe was two and three I was all about the free classes. We went to the free, trial everything-- music, Gymboree , art, YMCA, and yes gymnastics. We have previously tried this. There is, however, a drastic difference between two year olds participating in gymnastics and six year olds participating in gymnastics. The last gym experience--- I was excited and anxious and hopeful. Then my new mom world crumbled when my two year old promptly disobeyed the coach, threw a tantrum, and wasted our morning out not participating in the free gymnastics class! This time I was prepared for the worst---spitting, biting, tantrum, arm flailing, the works. I was most pleasantly surpri

Isom was lucky enough to have his two weeks of twelve hour shift work interrupted with a two day break today and tomorrow. It couldn't have worked out better considering that Gabe was off from school in observance of Hawaii Admissions Day---50 years of statehood today. http://hawaii.gov/statehood To commemorate the occasion and a day off from work and school, we took Gabe to the movies. A/C is really the only way to endure these stifling hot August days. We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast of French Toast and Lego playing and then were off to the first showing of the new movie "Shorts". http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1100119/ I guess I am a ten year old boy trapped in a 33 year old woman's body. I liked this movie. I was thoroughly amused. Gabe laughed out loud so many times I had to "shh" him several times in fear of the other movie goers getting irritated. The up and coming child actors were great. There were two of my 80's movie film favs in

I thought I would feel weird about going to a kid event at the park put on by my old co-workers and without my own kid. But I didn't. Gavin (my friend Sarah's 3 year old) and I had a blast. It was great to see some old, familiar faces and create 3 year old masterpieces in the park (even if I was dripping sweat, hungry---neglected to eat breakfast, and having a date with a 3 year old). Before I was the blogger that I am now, I had a part time job from home as Executive Director for The Baby Hui---a small non-profit that provides support for parents of children age zero to three. http://www.thebabyhui.org/ It has been my tradition over the past several years to either coordinate or participate in the annual Art in the Park event. It's always a crowd pleaser . This year I was participant. It has definitely been different not working. Even though I could just go to the office (across the hall from my bedroom) in my pj's, it was a serious commitment and ongoing stress of

No matter how much my mantra is "try something new, try something new", my stomach feels differently. It's mantra is "stay at home, relax on the couch, eat some chips". It still gets twisted all in knots, and I spend much more time biting my nails than usual, when it comes to actually DOING something new. Today I am going to instruct a keiki cooking class. It's called Lil' Chefs. I enjoy food. I enjoy kids (well, mostly). I enjoy being social and meeting new people. I enjoy getting out of the house. Then you would think that a one day a week class that involves all of these things would be terrific. And it is...except for the nerves. Will they like me? Will the food turn out okay? Will there be a turnout? Will I oversleep? Will I expose my neurotic tendencies to everyone? Sigh. All I know is that for 45 minutes today I will be a big ball of nerves...the other 23 hours and 15 minutes I get to be my normal non nervy self. I have decide

When you're a stay at home mom, and your kid is in school for part of the day, you have to get creative with how to fill your time. This week started off with baking! It's no mystery that I love cupcakes. It shows in my blog, it shows in my choices of favorite places and foods to eat, and oh yeah---it shows in my hips. But I wouldn't have it any other way. I drove to town in record time (I'm nevere late for a cupcake date) and met up with my friends Mari and Lehua . Lehua has the very coveted "Martha Stewart's Cupcakes" book http://www.marthastewart.com/photogallery/martha-stewarts-cupcakes . As I entered the apartment I noticed she had already flipped to the desired cupcake recipe for the morning: chocolate peanut butter. Yum! In between chit chatting and Louis Vuitton e-dreaming, the three of us (and little Sean too) baked cupcakes. Warm and gooey out of the oven, they tasted great...despite the muffin top portion flaking off a bit. Lehua

I'm officially old. And so are all my friends. Last night we went (as a family) to Dave and Busters to celebrate my friends 33rd birthday. Three rum and cokes later we got rid of the kids and husbands and were off to Formaggio's in Kailua http://www.formaggio808.com/ for a glass of wine and girl time. The atmosphere at Formaggio's is excellent. It is a great place for a ladies night out or a date with the hubby. The decor is pleasant and serene. The live music adds to the relaxation and the service with a smile made our visit very enjoyable. Since we were indulging on another beverage, we decided to put something else on our stomach---the bruschetta trio (my mouth is watering just thinking about it). It was the perfect pairing with our wine and we were even treated to a free piece of cheesecake in honor of the birthday girl. It was just like old times when I dropped Jayme off and she realized she forgot the key to her house and the opener to her gate. I laughed hysterica

Most likely I won't be winning any photography awards anytime soon. But, we can't be good at everything can we? I'm waiting for my cupcakes to cool before frosting them. It's Friday and we are half way through August and I feel like I'm sitting in a hairdryer it's so hot. Gabe is home from school and we have already had our weekly Friday date---Starbucks. The week has been filled with surprises (No Doubt concert and did I mention the bird my friend Malia captured, I mean rescued at Starbucks?) and it makes me wonder what's in store for the weekend. Will I somehow snag $20 tickets to the Black Eyed Peas? Will another of my animal loving friends rescue a dog? a cat? a gecko? We have no set plans but are on the edge of our seats to find out when Isom will have to go into work---shift work is beginning again. Good thing we are going to dinner with friends before we end our social life together due to his work schedule. My friend Jayme is turning 33 today an

Not that anyone can tell from the worlds worst photo, but last night's impromptu concert was awesome. First, it was cheap ($21). Second, it broke up the monotony of my week. Third, it was No Doubt! I had resigned myself to the fact that I wouldn't be seeing No Doubt for this "Greatest Hits" tour. I was o.k. with it since I have seen them at Kualoa Ranch, The EMP in Seattle, and The Blaisdell Arena here in Honolulu. I have also seen Gwen Stefani and of course own the Cd's and have filled my iPhone with their music. Nothing beats a live concert though. Tuesday night was the first show and it came and went. I was a little sad to see other friends posting about their concert adventures on Facebook but busied myself with other things (like re-watching "6 Feet Under"). Then, about 6 p.m. yesterday evening, the phone rings. Sarah had news of $20 tickets and a plan to get them. Hey Baby. I picked up Sarah and we met a very pregnant (but happ

I'm so happy I saw a great movie today. My book club is reading "My Life in France" by Julia Child with Alex Prud'homme so of course when I learned of the movie based on Julia Child and the Julie/Julia blog project coming out, I knew I would be interested for a variety of reasons: 1. I love biographies/memoirs 2. I love food 3. I love movies 4. I love books 5. I love blogging This movie combined all of these! It could only be better if I had viewed the movie in Starbucks! Since my dance card hasn't been too full lately, I realized that I had time to make the early showing of a movie today. Opportunity knocks, I answer. Since I hadn't had lunch yet, I decided to kill two birds with one stone and eat my lunch at the movies---the kids pack! Popcorn, Reeses Pieces, and a Sprunch (for you non Hawaii residents---Sprite and Fruit Punch). As I made my way up the steps in the theater I noticed that my fellow matinee movie patrons were all women like me. H

Apparently not only is it hurricane season, but it is baby shower season. The end of the year must be prime for making babies! I recently attended a beautiful shower in honor of a friend who is due at the end of the month. Since it's been six years since I've been in baby mode, it's always fun to reminisce about pregnancy, labor, delivery, and those precious first months of having a new born in the house. In some ways it seems like another lifetime and in other ways there are things so fresh it is truly as if they happened yesterday. The first of the two baby showers I attended recently was jungle/animal themed. We played lots of games, ate good food, and enjoyed themed cupcakes--chocolate and banana! The mother to be got tons of loot and managed to walk away with only one duplicate gift. In between shower number one and shower number two there has been a hurricane. Well, a so called hurricane. Felicia managed to spike water, battery, and spam sales but not much el

Too bad I waited for John Hughes to pass away in order to have a marathon of watching his movies. His movies are like your old, favorite pair of jeans...first you think "I know what they're like." You think you can go a day without wearing them but in reality, you can't. Well, I feel this way about good ole JH. I mean, with such films as "The Breakfast Club", "Sixteen Candles", "Pretty in Pink", and "Some Kind of Wonderful" to his credit, it's no wonder I'm a fan. I'm sure you've caught on to how much I love a good teen angst story---young romance, geeky awkwardness, high school drama---they are all the perfect recipe for one of my favorite movie genres. Since you can't plan death and I hadn't thought of a movie-a-thon before now, I wasn't able to give much notice to my friends regarding the event. So, on the night of, it was me and Mai Ly (well, Isom, Rob and the kids were there too, but...). The fi

The ugly truth is that this movie was not very good. I like Katherine Heigl (of Grey's Anatomy) but was not at all swept off my feet by Gerard Butler (of "300" and "P.S. I Love You). It's always great to get out and enjoy adult time with my girlfriends. Cara, Mai Ly, and I chowed down on some delish food at CPK and then headed up to the Pearlridge West Theaters www.consolidatedtheatres.com to see a "chick flick". There were some laugh out loud lines but for the most part I was unimpressed. The chemistry was lacking, the special effects were poor, and the acting seemed trite. In other words, I wish we had seen this at the dollar theater instead of paying a whopping $9.50 for it! But at least I can impart some wisdom on to others---don't go see this! I'm sure there are others who won't agree with my "review" but...write your own then! Tonight is John Hughes movie night in honor of the greatest 80's movie maker...at least I know

Thursday is beach day. I decided to throw in Starbucks, walking, and Target though too. I am very particular about my driving (gasp). I like for my errands to be "arranged". If I'm going to make the effort to drive to Kapolei , then I want there to be several Kapolei activities accomplished. After dropping the neighbor off at school, then Gabe off (have I mentioned how GREAT he is doing in 1st grade?!), I headed towards west Oahu. My first pit stop was the drive thru Starbucks where I started the day with an iced grande black tea with coconut (I heart coconut...there are new coconut M&Ms too, but I digress). I headed on to Ko Olina www.koolina.com and walked the "4 coves". It is a beautiful walk along the beach---it truly lives up to its name "Place of Joy" (it doesn't even matter that the coves are man made), the path is wide, and the fellow morning walkers are chipper. After getting pretty sweaty I plopped down on my portion of sand in

Since I have no paying job to speak of, I have been forced to be more creative and thrifty with how and what I spend my husband's hard earned money on. I have designated Mondays as "no cost Mondays". So, I go to the library (laugh if you wish but this was at first quite difficult for me---I heart books more than I heart Starbucks and love to buy them all up!), then I go to McDonald's for their free mocha...which I am sad to report, this past Monday was the end of that. Boo. Hoo. The beach (I'm not counting gas as an expense) has also become my new favorite past time. It is great because I can people watch, get some rays, read those library books, and sip on my free mocha (although I'm gonna have to figure something free out for next week). Rediscovering the library has been super nice. It brought back memories from summers with my grandparents---and if memory serves, they went once a week, every week, and when I would visit, so would I. Even then I loved buy