Life of Larisa or LOL

Kind of like a BLT with no bacon. I am shocked (and proud) of myself for going to CPK (with the hubby and kid) last night and NOT ORDERING PIZZA! I had the above pictured salad and a cup of asparagus soup. But since it is the worst shade of green imaginable, I opted out on the picture. It was tasty however. Another bonus about CPK is that even when you are abstaining from pizza, there are still loads of delicious options to choose from. I also enjoy that ALL, not just one, of their soups are vegetarian. Thank you CPK !

Coconut chocolate macaroon to start girls shopping day out. Mmmm . That will be the last one of those for awhile. I must ensure that the dress I found today for our party will fit in two months time. Initially my best pizza on island quest was going to be limited to pizza places. But as today proved, pizza can be found in the most unsuspecting of places...like the middle of Nordstroms . Okay, so we were in a restaurant. I didn't just run into it on the escalator, although that would be convenient. The initial plan was to go to Cheesecake Factory for sweet brunch before shopping, but they opened too late, so we ended up getting a head start at Ala Moana . Salmon is a pizza topping I have never experienced before. It seems a bit pretentious. I was curious, so even though this was an unplanned detour on my road to pizza enlightenment, I'm glad I tried something new (relatively). My salmon pizza was good, but I think I prefer my salmon on a bagel in the form of Lox. As,

Today I had pizza as research for our upcoming anniversary party. For our food, I really wanted to have a pizza bar...a variety of fresh, delicious pizzas for folks to enjoy with their beer. It doesn't look promising at this point. But, I did enjoy lunch with friends and discussing party plans. You've heard me rave about Boston's Pizza. Today I enjoyed Boston's pizza but it was called Bob's . I can't speak for Bob, but I'm pretty sure he used to own Boston's. Bob's is around the corner from Kailua beach so I'm guessing their main clientele are beachgoers , surfers, kayakers ...and you know, stay at home moms. The slice is the equivalent of two and the crust is thin. The toppings are plentiful, and for under ten dollars you can walk away satisfied (including drink). The outdoor seating is pleasant since it has umbrellas. Bob chats with all his customers and personally delivers each slice to every customer. His Boston accent adds to th

Let the pizza- ing commence! Vacation was pretty much a preamble to my latest quest. I'm sure by now you know that I love food...but most especially pizza (and cupcakes and Starbucks and...). Anyway. Losing track. It seems to me that Friday night was always pizza night. Maybe that is a universally American thing? No? Well, we practice a religion called Pizzaism at our house. Gabe worships the god of cheese. And me, pretty much anything related to bread and in the shape of a circle. Waldo's is a dive. A pizza dive. I recall going here for a drink a couple of years ago and eating lasagna here with Isom and an old Army buddy of his. Never the pizza...until two days ago. A large half spinach/garlic and veggie filled three hungry pizza goers with four pieces to spare for my pizza test. To get the most out of my pizza, I enjoy three tests/steps. Step one: eat the pizza hot Step two: refrigerate leftover pizza and several hours after consuming hot slice, eat cold re

This is the back of my new venti personal Starbucks cup. Isom thought I wrote on my old cup with Sharpie. Gotta love Starbucks Hawaii. Marketing geniuses that they are, they got me (and by proxy, Mai Ly...since I snapped up two for her as well) to buy another cup that I already have. But this one is different! It's special! It says HAWAII! And, from the picture below, you can see the addition of a coaster on the lid (although who is using that in their car? Isn't that where most people are indulging in their personal Starbucks treat?). Anyway, I love that Hawaii gets singled out for fun things...like cups. Thanks Michelle for choosing to meet for a Starbucks pre - swapmeet ...or I might never have gotten this cute new addition to my collection!

...the restaurant, not the place in Mexico. Although I have been there too. A surprise dinner date with the Pommerenk s last night turned into trying a new restaurant...and it was Mexican! Great! In our neck of the woods, our Mexican food choices are Taco Bell and Just Tacos. Neither of which should really be considered Mexican food. I'm unsure of how long Acapulco's has been in the Waipio shopping center by Foodland , but I know it is BYOB...works for me...and it is cozy. There are some outdoor seats, they serve Horchata , and those super sweet Mexican bottled sodas ...made in China (just kidding). I ordered the veggie quesadilla . It came with a side salad and a healthy dollop of sour cream. After munching on the tortilla chips and guacamole ( mui bueno ), I was unable to annihilate the quesadilla as I typically would have. It made for a delicious lunch this afternoon after swapmeeting with Michelle. The prices were a little steeper than I recall Mexican food

I've heard numerous people compliment this little sugar pusher on wheels. Mountain Magic Shave Ice in Waikele ...sounds like something we would have experienced at Disneyland. Although, Waikele is like a Disneyland of sorts for me---Starbucks, Borders, trolley rides, shopping, malasadas , and shave ice...all in one complex. Yesterday, I watched Gavin for the day. While Gabe was at school I showed him how to play with Gabe's slinky, Star Wars lightsaber, and Transformers. When we picked Gabe up from school, we made a quick pit stop at Wal -mart and then to the park for an energy release...you can't keep two little boys cooped up! Half an hour into a game of "treasure hunt", we got rained out. We headed to Waikele to ride the trolley and read kid books at Borders. Half-way through the trolley ride, three pairs of eyes spied the same thing---SHAVE ICE! I have bought soda, chips, and I think cotton candy from this stand...oddly enough, not shave ice. Each G-

...smell better than they taste. The idea is better than the reality. The cook is not up to par. It has been at least two weeks since I have set foot in the kitchen to bake. I've made many appearances otherwise. To eat. Could it be, that in two short weeks I have lost my touch? Definitely. Two batches of cupcakes (one "belated birthday batch" for Sarah and one "trying a new recipe batch" for me) that are blecky . New word. Yucky and bleck (which is apparently a combination of bleh and eck ). Today, I had hoped to cheer myself up with a revitalization of baking. I volunteered all morning at Gabe's school, managed to make a little boy cry, lost my blog momentarily in cyberspace---all before the two botched batches. I would love to be able to troubleshoot, but I just don't have a clue as to why the same recipe, made by the same aspiring baker, with the same equipment and ingredients, can turn out wonderfully one time and catastrophically terr

I hadn't eaten at Toritos in like ten years. I used to ride here on my moped from my UH apartment weekly . I think I might have even walked here a time or two. It's all coming back to me... It is cheap, good food. Did I mention filling?! I stopped in here for a quick bite to eat. I had a senior gentlemen as my waiter, boasting his parenthood skills with a bright gold necklace "#1 Dad" . It's good to know and advertise what you excel at. Off to a good start. Although he was a little slow (maybe the necklace was weighing him down), the wait for my $8 meal was worth it. Besides, I was munching on tortilla chips and salsa...and playing "Words with Friends" on my iPhone (totally ADDICTING...like everything involving that thing!). Stop in to the Market City Shopping Center for a Mexican bite to eat. Good salsa, charming necklace wearing waiters, cheap eats, CRAB enchiladas! I was pleased.

I gotta get a job. Anyone hiring for movie watcher/cupcake eater? Someone save me from myself! It's March already... two months away from our ten year anniversary party. I have a dress to find and fit into and yet after earlier plans with a friend were changed, I found myself buying cupcakes at The Alley in Aiea and then going to see Robert Pattinson on the big screen...again. I should be walking. Far distances. Working up a huge sweat. Yes, I was only remotely interested in seeing this movie because it starred "Edward". Not counting "Twilight" movies, and his brief on screen appearance in "Harry Potter" and the blah, blah, blah, I have seen RPattz (yes this is a real abbreviation for his name) in two other god awful movies. I was worried he might not be a good actor. Although, I think he does an American accent really well. This wasn't "Precious" or "The Hurt Locker" good, or even that level of acting/directing. But it was a

...every one's favorite! Today is a simple Sunday and I can't seem to keep my hands off the computer. Withdrawal from my week of not using it or blogging? I captured a few of our vacation moments via my favorite camera. Enjoy... Gabe and I ready to head out for our first full day of themeparking...super excited. Tutu and Gabe in front of one of her many villages...there should be a theme park for this! The amount of Legos used for the minis blew me away. Happy St. Patrick's Day and Happy 33rd Birthday Sarah! Magic Kingdom! Goofy! Mike making pizza at Zelo. Gabe was so excited he couldn't stop moving...thus the blurriness...has nothing at all with my lack of photo skills! The best pizza...hands down. Zelo dessert. Take out from Zelo. My new Starbucks souvenir mug from this trip.

Thank goodness for Verma at Mililani Borders. She knows I love Twilight and she knew I would be, I hate to say devastated over a teen movie, but...if I didn't get my hands on the DVD copy of "New Moon". She called on Friday to remind me that I could pick up my reserved copy at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday morning. Yes, last year I took Gabe to Borders at midnight for the release of "Twilight" on DVD. This year, however, I was busy celebrating Sarah's birthday. That is true sacrifice. So after a late night of belated party going (we had a delicious opah dinner at Indigo, followed by " Jerseyshore " night at Pearl---now that is funny people watching), I woke up to find that I had caught a cold. I couldn't convince Isom to drive the five minutes to Borders to pick up my reserved copy, so, I had to make myself somewhat presentable to get the DVD myself. The remaining half of the day I got to enjoy the world of Forks and La Push while sipping

Here's my list of why Disney is considered the happiest place on earth (although I saw more crying babies here than I have ever seen/heard in my life)...I would say it is truly a magical place though---it transformed this cynic into...well, less of one. Thanks to Tutu for a WONDERFUL trip---Disneyland, Legoland , pizza for days! 1. It's in California! Despite traffic and botox , I think California is a wonderful place...second to Hawaii of course. 2. They have pizza! Even though it was probably one of the worst cheese pizzas, it still hit the spot after waiting in line on our feet all day to ride rides. 3. Space Mountain! I can't say for sure how old I was the first time I went to Disney with Grandma. I know it was over twenty years ago though, and I still compare all roller coasters to Space Mountain. It is dark. It is fast. It is world famous. I LOVE it. 4. All the lands! Tomorrowland , Adventureland , Frontierland , Fantasyland ...each with their o

Not a bad way to spend a Sunday when you are under the weather. Yesterday was spent lounging, enjoying being in my pjs, and not having to be anywhere special (I made the boys watch "New Moon" on DVD with me). And today when I woke up congested and with a slight sore throat, I thought I could muster enough energy to sit inside the movie theater and out of my pjs for two hours. Now I am back on the couch. I haven't read any of the books in the series that this movie is based on, but of course, as usual, now I am interested in picking up the books. This movie covers perfectly (as I'm sure the books do too), that memorable adolescent part of life called Middle School. The characters were funny (we all knew or were one of them). The kids acting in the movie were great too...very realistic. I'm sure there will be sequels, since movies based on best selling book series are a million dollar idea right now. For several laugh out loud chuckles and a break from the ty

This was our first trip (Tutu, myself, Isom, and Gabe) to Legoland. Over the past ten years, I have heard nothing but great things about Legoland. We were all excited to see millions of...LEGOS! After a six hour drive from Phoenix to Carlsbad, California, we relaxed at our hotel and tried to rest up for what we knew would be a BIG following day. Pizza, beer, and sleep and before we knew it the big day had arrived. We prepared for our day of Legos with a great continental breakfast provided by the hotel and even rode the hotel shuttle to the adventure park. When we arrived we were amazed. Legos everywhere...on the bathroom signs, inside the stores, animals in the trees, shooting out water over a man made lake, as rides...it was a sight to see. We made it around half of the park before our Legoday came to an end. Day two was even better since we were old pros. My uncle drove down from Los Angeles to meet us and we all enjoyed watching Gabe ride the rides. We lapped up some Gra

CPK , but better. We have now eaten at Sammy's twice. It is in walking distance of the hotel, has pizza (double thumbs up), and a cool fire pit. Our first night in California was spent enjoying a gluten free beer (not bad)...and pizza. I had the veggie, (pictured below) and for our second trip, the goat cheese and a new to me California beer ---Bear Republic, which was the perfect compliment to my pizza (also vegetarian and pictured above). The service is reasonable, the price seems to be similar to what we are used to in Hawaii, and the food is DELICIOUS. Of course it would be a California/Nevada chain. Come to Hawaii! At least we will know where to eat when we return for a visit here. Which I hope we do...so far Carlsbad has been fun (well, fun with a few six year old bumps). We survived our first trip and day in Legoland and are even going back for more today. Highlights of Legoland thus far: short lines in the morning, good lunch ( caprese salad...very uptown!), se

I know this may seem like the last place someone who doesn't eat meat would want to go...but we are on vacation...with Tutu...and every growing boy (whether vertically or horizontally) needs to experience a delicious In-N-Out burger! Besides, I ate fries galore. Yum. We stopped in Yuma, Arizona on our way to San Diego, California for a burger (and fry) fix. We had been in the car for about two hours at this point, with four to go. Yes, the Majors ( Griswolds ) are roadtripping . We made our way from Oahu to Phoenix (via airplane) and from Phoenix to Carlsbad, CA. As Gabe's first official road trip/car ride lasting more than two hours...I think we did pretty good. I mean, he is totally addicted to his DS and iPOD , but other than that, all good. We didn't hear one "are we there yet?"...although he might have forgotten how to talk since all the mental stimulation he experienced for six plus hours was an animated race car while listening to The Black Eyed Peas.

...for being mammarazi and taking my photo while drinking, reading, eating...you know, my normal everyday activities. For creating my new fabulous banner (I know it's not centered or color coordinated...yet). For taking us to the airport. For checking our mail. For walking with me. For feeding my cupcake, Twilight, and other obsessions. Mahalo Mai .

We didn't see it in 3D...the color, visual details, and oddball characters created first by Lewis Carrol and now on screen from Tim Burton, make wearing those weird glasses unnecessary . It is necessary to see this movie though. It was such a fun adventure. I didn't even need popcorn. I loved it from beginning to end and look forward to seeing it again on Blue-Ray/DVD. It is very much a kid at heart movie...like "The Wizard of Oz". I was only unsatisfied with (jaw drop)...Johnny Depp . I thought there was a little too much Captain Jack Sparrow to his Mad Hatter character---I mean they are both crazy, but they are completely different roles...I think he might have been confused. But, the slight irritation was more than made up for with the Red Queen played by Helena Bonham Carter and Alice played by newcomer Mia Wasikowska (that is a mouthful). I think this movie might be better suited for the female audience...the boys weren't as fond of the tale as I w

Dark Cherry Mocha from Starbucks. I've now had it iced, hot, and as a sample (substitute soy). It has brought me back to my Starbucks coffee roots. I almost always order tea...but mocha is back. We have renewed our romance. The cherry is not overpowering. It is a perfect hint of yummy. Whip or no whip, you too may fall in love with this spring addition to the menu.

...twice in two days. I must have been sushi deficient. Last night we walked up to Mililani Town Center for sushi dinner and today after a morning of shopping in Waikele (trying to find Sarah a party dress), sushi lunch. Last night I enjoyed the veggie maki ...rice, fried tempura style veggies, mysterious delicious sauce. Today I tried something new. Scallop maki . Scallops smothered in a spicy sauce a top imitation crab (real or fake...both good) and rice. The top photo is today's sushi..."looks like throw-up" says Sarah. Barf jokes aside, it tasted wonderful. So, I've established that sushi is good for family dinner, friendly lunch, and quenching seafood cravings. They are popping up on every corner here...surely there is one on a corner near you.

We did it! Last year I walked my first 10K. It was the Straub 10K. This year, I decided to sign up again. I'm so glad I did. It is a scenic walk. You are surrounded by women. It is 6.2 miles. It is early in the morning. These might all sound like deterrents, but I will happily sign up for this race again next year. My experience during the race was rather uneventful. The experience leading up to the race however, a different story. I'm enjoying a teeny tiny weekend right now. Yes, on Monday at 8:15 in the morning. Why? I did not have one moment of free time over the past two days. Not a complaint (from me anyway...maybe from Isom ). If every weekend were like this one, we might run into a few snags. Saturday morning kick started the events---Laura and Dan's wedding at Mid Pacific Country club in Lanikai . Simple, sweet elegance. The bride was stunning...as were the views of the ocean and mountains from the lanai where the ceremony was held. Congratulations (0n your marria