Yes. Hawaii loves spam. Some call it “Hawaiian steak” but to mostly everyone spam means breakfast, lunch, dinner or spam musubi…

Hormel Foods Corp. reported an increase in spam sales this quarter not only in the U.S. but also internationally as well. Well, I guess that’s not surprising considering the rising cost of food and spam is definitely one way to make your grocery dollars stretch. Seriously though, this post is not about making your grocery dollars stretch, but rather about finding creative ways to serve the same thing over and over again.

So with that in mind, let’s take a little break and watch this comic sketch.

Yikes! Well, continuing on with singing the praises of Spam. Earlier this month, there was the 6th Annual Waikiki Spam Jam filled with Spam dishes from some of Hawaii’s top restaurants and even a $1000 cash prize along with a one year supply of spam for a Mr. or Ms. Spam Hawaii. If you missed this year’s event, mark your calendars for next year’s 7th Annual Waikiki Spam Jam to be held on April 25, 2009 on Kalakaua Avenue.

Anyway, getting back to finding creative ways to serve spam – I was amazed that there were so many different recipes! I thought I was a spam guru – give me a can of spam and I can always whip up something to eat but truly, there’s a lot of creative and unique spam recipes. I think the one recipe that I am most excited about trying is “Spam Pizza Pockets”. I know my kids are going to love that one.

So here are the recipe sites for your perusal.

1) The Official Spam site contains over three hundred different recipes from all over the world. You have to at least look at what people are doing with Spam in their kitchens!

2) Cook Advice has about 12 recipes in all, but since they were one of the first sites I checked out, they get to remain on the list…

3) All Recipes.com had several unique spam recipes that I didn’t see anywhere else.

If you want more recipes, Google “spam recipes” and you’ll find a bunch of listings. Unfortunately, most of them are just repeating the same information found on other sites.

Anyway, if you have any Spam recipes you’d like to share, feel free to post them here.

spam, recipes, Waikiki Spam Jam, hawaiian steak, Mr. or Ms. Spam Hawaii

Bringing back Rap Reiplinger to Hawaii’s forefront of entertainment was a great idea. He was a genius at portraying life in Hawaii including sketches that portray many local stereotypes of people in Hawaii.

Recently on YouTube, some of Rap’s work created right before he passed has been posted. You have to check this out! There are a reported 10 clips that have been posted and there is also reported work that is still floating around somewhere out there. Anyway, here are a few of the links to those clips.

1) Rap Reiplinger “Swami Knows Best”

Rap on religion.

2) Rap Reiplinger “Homer Landsbee”

I guess our real estate market could use any tips on selling property including offering Cornish game hen sized chickens to buyers. Just be sure to stand back when working with Mr. Landsbee so you don’t catch the sprays when he speaks…

3) Rap Reiplinger “Snoko Lesson”

You gotta talk pidgin english after watching this “snoko” lesson. This is classic Rap Reiplinger stuff and one of the main reasons why he will always be remembered as one of Hawaii’s top comedians of his time!

If you’re looking for something to do this month be sure to see Honolulu Theater for Youth’s production, “Rap’s Hawaii” which is replaying Tenney Theater, St. Andrew’s Cathedral. Tickets can be purchased online with adult tickets priced at $20 and $10 for youth and senior admission. The play is running every Saturday, June 14, 2008 – June 28, 2008 with performances at 4:00pm and 8:00pm.

Rap Reiplinger, Aunty Marialani, Fate Yanagi, Homer Landsbee, Snoko lesson, swami knows best, Honolulu Theater for Youth

Today is a day of remembrance for the lives lost, but also for the freedom gained through our military forces who have valiantly served as a powerful force. With a lei, the symbol of Hawaii’s love and aloha, our troops are honored and fallen war heroes are recognized once again.

But there are things we can do to support our Hawaii servicemen and women who are alive today. We have families who have been deployed to Iraq as well as other places. We have single moms who have lost their husbands in battle and they can use your help and your encouragement.

1) “Gifts From the Home Front” – donate a gift certificate of any dollar amount to anyone who is deployed or injured. They will be able to shop at the Army and Air Force Exchange. http://www.afes.com/docs/home-front.htm

2) “Any Soldier” – Interested in supplying deployed military with their needs? Check out this site to find a list of deployed personnel. http://www.anysoldier.com

3) “Books for Soldiers” – This is a non-profit organization that sends books, DVD’s, games and other relief supplies to soldiers at various locations. http://www.booksforsoldiers.com/

4) “Commissary Gift Certificates” – Help Hawaii’s military families with their groceries by providing a gift certificate for use at the Commissary. http://www.commissaries.com/certificheck

5) “Homes for Our Troops” – This organization receives monetary contributions that goes toward the building and remodeling (to make handicap accessible) of homes for veterans who have been severely wounded. http://www.homesforourtroops.org/

6) “Let’s Say Thanks” – A great way to teach our children and youth to appreciate our military is to have them send a card to overseas troops. This is a wonderful experience for both the sender as well as military personnel. http://www.letssaythanks.com

7) “Operation Dear Abby” – If cards aren’t your thing, send an e-mail message to any service member through this website. This is a quick and easy way to send encouragement and appreciation for their sacrifice. http://www.anyservicemember.navy.mil/

“Operation Hero Miles” – Have you got extra frequent flyer miles? Donate your miles to deployed troops. The miles go toward flying home or helping their family members visit recovering personnel around the country. http://www.heromiles.org

9) “Operation Gratitude” – If you’ve got some creativity, Operation Gratitude can help you find different ways to show our military personnel your appreciation for all they do. Check out this website for more information. http://www.opgratitude.com/

10) “Operation Uplink” – Your financial donation goes toward funding phone cards distributed to service members so they can call their families. http://www.operationuplink.org.

11) “Soldiers’ Angels” – Do you feel like you want to do more for our soldiers than just send notes and provide for their needs? Consider adopting a soldier and become their angel. http://www.soldierangels.com/

12) “USO Cares” – Even soldiers abroad have needs. Be a part of providing care packages delivered to military personnel all over the globe. http://www.usocares.org/

There are many ways to show our Hawaii military personnel how much you appreciate their sacrifice and their courage. Take time to honor our military by getting involved with one or more of these ways that benefit our troops.

Happy Memorial Day to you and you family! Be sure to check out some of the great activities going on all over Oahu today and tomorrow in commemoration of our military!

Memorial Day, Hawaii, lei, military personnel assistance, troops, Oahu activities

May 24, 2008 – May 26, 2008

Memorial Day Weekend means it’s a three day weekend and I can only think of one thing - barbecue! Well… At least for me anyway…. But if you’re looking for something to do, check out these places on Oahu this weekend!

May 24

50TH STATE FAIR – opening this weekend at Aloha Stadium, get ready for great food, rides and entertainment. There is an entry fee of $5.

SUNSET ON THE BEACH – check out this free activity going on at Queen’s Surf Beach in Waikiki. Here you’ll find great food and entertainment with this month’s theme being fashion. For more information, please call 923-1094.

KATHY GRIFFIN – Comedian Kathy Griffin will be at the Waikiki Shell. Show starts at 7:30 pm. For more information, call 877-750-4400 or go online to purchase tickets through Ticketmaster.

May 25

50TH STATE FAIR – opening this weekend at Aloha Stadium, get ready for great food, rides and entertainment. There is an entry fee of $5.

SUNSET ON THE BEACH – check out this free activity going on at Queen’s Surf Beach in Waikiki. Tonight’s movie showing will be “The Devil Wears Prada”. Here you’ll find great food and entertainment. For more information, please call 923-1094.

20TH ANNUAL MEMORIAL DAY SERVICE – free event held at the Waikiki Natatorium War Memorial as a tribute to Nancy Bannick. Starting at 10am, see performances by ‘Ale’a, Nalani Olds, the Royal Hawaiian Band and more of Hawaii’s top performers.

BATTLE OF THE BANDS – I think the title says it all – Battle of the Bands! Anna Bannana’s will have an all ages event starting at 4pm. $10 cover applies. Call 945-5190 for more information.

May 26

LANTERN FLOATING HAWAI’I CEREMONY – This year’s theme, “A Thousand Lanterns for Peace & Harmony”. At sunset, 1,600 candlelit lanterns will be cast afloat from Ala Moana Beach Park at 6:30pm. This is a free event organized by the Buddhist community.

50TH STATE FAIR – opening this weekend at Aloha Stadium, get ready for great food, rides and entertainment. There is an entry fee of $5.

things to do, Oahu weekend events, Memorial Day Weekend, 50th State Fair, Sunset on the Beach, Kathy Griffin, 20th Annual Memorial Day Service, Battle of the Bands, Lantern Floating Hawaii Ceremony

But even if we never take the trip, I know there are quite a few things to do on Oahu that I know my kids would enjoy. Anyway, here’s my list about different activities that my kids and I could do to explore Hawaii.

(1) Research a few native Hawaiian plants on the internet and then check out a couple of hiking trails to go find those same plants. What would make this really cool would be to find a waterfall on the trail.

(2) Check out the tidal pools around Oahu and also check out the Waikiki Aquarium. I also wanted to go walk out to Chinaman’s Hat and possibly even the sandbar. Being that I don’t swim very well, this will be a challenge for me, but I’m sure I’ll get over myself when the time comes.

(3) Stay at the Hilton and rent the small kayak and boat bikes they have near the lagoon. Going out on a boat or the submarine would be cool too. Even an overnighter would be really fun!

(4) Visit historical landmarks like the Mission Homes Museum, Iolani Palace and the Arizona Memorial. I also was thinking about doing a few historical walking tours in places like Wahiawa and Chinatown.

(5) Taking trips to the library would be a must. Reading is definitely a plus for them and hopefully they’ll be doing a summer reading program again this year. By the way, if you have younger children, a few libraries around Oahu have a free story time. Barnes and Noble offer a free story and arts and crafts time as well. Check out the Midweek or TGIF for more info.

Hawaii is a great place to explore! And besides, I want my children to know about their culture and about their home state firsthand rather than from a text book.

Hawaii culture, Big Island, Hawaii activities, exploring Hawaii

I read in the paper that Hawaiian Air just increased their airfare and American Airlines is now going to start charging for any checked in luggage. Yes… including the first bag.

I thought things got bad when we started to not have meals during the red-eye flights to the mainland. Things got worse when they brought back the food and made it an option to purchase charging about $10 for it.

Now, we’ve got to pay to check in any bags on the flight? The cause of the increase is of course, fuel prices.

Perhaps I should’ve bought stock in oil when it was trading at $25 a barrel because there’s a predication floating around that it could very well go to $200 a barrel. What that means for us is that the cost of gas at $200/barrel would translate to $7.00 per gallon of gas.

Sheeeesh!!! That’s like the price of lunch! But does that mean I won’t travel anymore… Probably not. I just have to be more creative and resourceful about finding the best deals on and offline. Here are a couple of online sites I found that may help me find cheap airfare in and to Hawaii.

(1) Cheapflights.com – compiles individual airline rates as well as places like Orbitz, Hotwire, Travelocity, Priceline, Expedia, CheapTickets and CheapOAir. That makes things really easy rather than flipping through all the websites that sometimes can take minutes to load.

(2) Yahoo Travel – has a FareChase program that searches all the travel sites for the most current deals. One thing I liked about using Yahoo Travel was the online planner and deals tab.

Well, I’ve got some research to do. I want to take my family to the Big Island this summer and perhaps even California later on in the year. If anyone knows of any other sites that can help make vacation planning a little easier, let me know!

cheap airfares Hawaii, Hawaiian Air, American Airlines, cheapflights.com, Yahoo Travel, Big Island vacation planning, Hawaii travel, California

As you plan for your next trip to Hawaii, here are some great links to help start off your vacation cost research. Keep in mind that the deals are subject to change. Check the website links for more info.

(1) BudgetVacations.net offers a listing of latest deals and the date the special rates expire. This is a good site to keep up to date on the latest special offerings.

(2) Resort Quest Hawaii offers great deals. They offer free stay for kids, free admission to activities and of course free meals.

(3) Hyatt Regency Waikiki Beach Resort is also offering a kids stay free, play free and eat free as long as you enter the offer code listed prior to booking.

(4) Hawaii Prince Hotel offers a kids play free (golf) and eat free at hotel restaurants. Hawaii Prince hotel also has a great dinner buffet that is well worth checking out. Check out Priceline.com’s deal.

(5) Starwood Hotels and Resorts operates the Sheraton Waikiki, Sheraton Maui Resort and The Westin Maui Resort and Spa. They are offering a free night for kids, free breakfast and other kids eat free specials. Check for deals upon booking.

(6) Aqua Palm Waikiki Parkside Hotel, part of the Aston chain, offers a kids stay free, play free and eat free incentive as well.

(7) Outrigger and Ohana Hotels aren’t offering free kids stuff, but they are still worth mentioning because they do have various offers. They may offer one or more of the following specials: 5th night free, free breakfast for two (2) or a free beach kit. Keep in mind there are several Outrigger and Ohana Hotels and they all offer different specials. Check out this page for the links to each hotel website to see what the current deals are.

(8) Marriott Hotels & Resorts did not have a special listed at the time of this posting however they did have a family time special that just expired which included free meals. If you’re interested in staying at this hotel, I recommend checking with your travel agent or their website for an update on the special prior to booking.

Whether you live in Hawaii or planning your next trip here, these deals should really help save some money to experience more of the other things you can do in Hawaii!

Hawaii vacation, Hawaii freebies, Hawaii hotels and resorts, Waikiki

The series of articles were great at explaining what the issues are and how the city plans of finding solutions for the problem of pedestrian safety but there is still one element that needs to be included – making traffic safety a culture in Hawaii.

There are many ideas on the table for making the safety improvements needed. The City is reviewing ideas that could potentially cost millions to implement. There are also plans next year for legislators to take a look at imposing mandatory sentences for pedestrian deaths. But here’s one idea that needs to also be looked at – changing the culture of pedestrian and driver safety.

The focus of possible solutions seems to be on what improvements the city can make on the roads – building this and that and having stiffer penalties, but what those solutions don’t include is awareness education for Hawaii’s drivers and pedestrians.

We’ve seen pedestrians cross attempt to cross the streets where they shouldn’t be crossing. We’ve also seen drivers speeding through Hawaii’s roadways and we’ve also seen drivers who were oblivious to what was around them. What is the level of traffic safety as a culture then?

Changing the culture of traffic safety is going to be no easy task as well. There’s no doubt that we need to improve the infrastructure of Hawaii’s road, sidewalks and transportation, but we also need start working making safety a culture in the hearts of Hawaii’s people.

1. What about initiating a mandatory driver’s education class on traffic safety awareness that has to be retaken every couple of years as part of obtaining a driver’s license?

2. How’s about creating a public service announcement that talks about pedestrian and driver safety in Hawaii?

3. The Department of Health could jump on this by coming in at the angle of improved health for walkers and bikers.

4. Local businesses and the tourism industry could also get on board with this by coming in at the angle of creating / portraying a more walkable and bikeable community for local residents and non-locals alike.

5. The Board of Education can promote this even more in the schools teaching Hawaii’s children to become safer users of the roadways.

6. Even the media could support changing the face of traffic safety culture in Hawaii by making this issue a part of their local paper.

We’re still going to need legislators and other community leaders making safety culture a priority. We’re still going to have to improve roadways, sidewalks and look at mass transit opportunities, but we’re also going to have to look at how the community can elevate their awareness as a driver and as a pedestrian.

What do you think?

Hawaii traffic safety, walkable bikable communities, traffic safety culture, Hawaii mass transit

I expect to see hole-in-the-wall restaurants or tiny shops operating under a residential unit. But this is 2008. Technology has brought improvements in the way business is done. The hole-in-the-walls and mini marts have been replaced by Hawaii’s eBay sellers, work at home moms (and dads) and rising MLM stars.

With the way the economy is shifting it’s time to rekindle that entrepreneurial spirit. When there were no jobs before, our grandpas and grandmas created them. They opened businesses of their own and worked it like there was no tomorrow. In 2008, home business owners are doing the exact same thing but without all the overhead and stocking costs. They’re working out of their homes, on the internet and it’s a different sort of challenge from what our grandparents experienced. Nonetheless, it’s still hard work.

Building an online business takes focus. You know how hard it is to stay focused on the internet. You also have to learn how to operate on the internet (i.e. – SEO, social media, blogging, videos, etc.) which can be a challenge in itself. Then there’s the part about learning how to market your business both on and offline AND still finding the time to raise a family.

Hawaii’s old mom and pop stores bring a feeling of nostalgia for old Hawaii, but I’m also glad for Google because that’s the system I must learn to operate in if I intend to make it working at home.

Hawaii business, mom and pop stores, eBay sellers, work at home moms, MLM

The first thing we’ll need is information. Where can the deals be found and what can we get?

Here are a few sites that can help us with that.

1) The first is a freebies / coupon site called “Free Meals and More” found at Keiki Gifts blog. When I saw the partial listing of the types of items that were being offered, let me tell you, that the coupons are well worth the one year fee. Thanks to Keiki Gifts for finding that deal and letting us know about it!

2) The second blog, Hawaii Money Saving Mama, finds the freebies and deals in Hawaii both on and off the internet. Her most recent post was about places that offer “Kids Eat Free” nights in Hawaii.

3) Frugal Mania, part of the 451 Press Network, offers tips and resources for frugal living. In this one post, Michael talks about the bento box which we are all familiar with – those Tupperware containers. You know, it’s been several years since I’ve worked a corporate job that I forgot what happened to my containers. I had some pretty nice sectioned ones that held just enough food for me. Anyway…

Anyway, I plan to make this topic a regular part of the posts I do. If you have any other sites you’d like to share that can help us cut the cost of living in Hawaii, please share them here!

Keiki Gifts, Hawaii Money Saving Mama, Frugal Mania