Happy Lunching, Party Peeps! After my relaxing night last night, I woke up feeling refreshed, rejuvenated and ready to seize the day! I breezed through tons of work this morning, and am spending my lunch break typing up my Mo`oku`auhau. My what, you say? My family geneology, silly. Next week, the Broski and I are headed to the sandwich islands for a plethora (I love using that word), yes a plethora of events including a Family Reunion at the Royal Kona and some r&r at Gramp’s house on Kaua`i (and, this just in! Tubing down old sugar cane ditches!) We will also be stopping in O’ahu for my Great Grandmother, Annabelle Kaluna`alanui Muller’s memorial service. To pay respects to my incredible grandmother, and the hawaiian heritage that she (and I) came from, I will be reciting my Mo`oku`auhau. It is a verbal family tree, per se, going down the lineage of how our family came to be. I originally researched and wrote my Mo`oku`auhau at a hula camp I participated in almost ten years ago on Kaua`i, and surprisingly have it memorized still today. I feel very blessed to know what my heritage is, and be part of a “researching” family who knows so much about so many generations that far back. There is always a huge geneology room set up at our family reunions so I will be sure to take lots of pics and hopefully blog about some new family members I have learned about. Here is my Mo`oku`auhau (translated in English at the bottom).

`O ke`ia ka mo`oku`auhau `o ka ohana `o Muller Keka`ula Palaualelo. 

`O Palaualelo ke kane, `O Kamakolu ka wahine, Noho pu laua a ua hanau `ia `o Mary Ann Keka`ula Palaualelo. 

`O Waldemar Maximillian Muller ke kane, `O Mary Ann Keka`ula Palaualelo ka wahine, Noho pu laua a ua hanau `ia `o Emil Maximillian Muller.

`O Emil Maximillian Muller ke kane, `O Rose Beniamina ka wahine, Noho pu laua a ua hanau `ia `o Annabelle Kaluna`alanui Muller. 

`O Robert Benzie Fyfe ke kane, `O Annabelle Kaluna`alanui Muller ka wahine, Noho pu laua a ua hanau `ia `o Kai`opua Fyfe. 

`O Kai`opua Fyfe ke kane, `O Betty Nadine Wallace ka wahine, Noho pu laua a ua hanau `ia `o Shaun Alan Fyfe. 

 `O Shaun Alan Fyfe ke kane, `O Denise Lynn Moskus ka wahine, Noho pu laua a ua hanau `ia `o Nichole Nadine Keka`ula Fyfe. 

This is the family geneology for the family of Muller Keka`ula Palaualelo.

Palaualelo, the man and Kamakolu, the woman, gave birth to Mary Ann Keka`ula Palaualelo. (My Great-Great-Great Grandma)

Waldemar Maximillian Muller, the man and Mary Ann Keka`ula Palaualelo, the woman, gave birth to Emil Maximillian Muller.  (My Great-Great Grandpa)

Emil Maximillian Muller, the man and Rose Beniamina, the woman, gave birth to Annabelle Kaluna`alanui Muller. (My Great Grandma)

Robert Benzie Fyfe, the man, and Annabelle Kaluna`alanui Muller, the woman, gave birth to Kai`opua Fyfe. (My Grandpa)

Kai`opua Fyfe, the man, and Betty Nadine Wallace, the woman, gave birth to Shaun Alan Fyfe. (My Dad)

Shaun Alan Fyfe, the man, and Denise Lynn Moskus, the woman, gave birth to Nichole Nadine Keka`ula Fyfe. (Me!)

*Cool Fact:  I am named after my Great-Great-Great Grandma, Mary Ann Keka`ula Muller. My birthday is on May 9th, and hers in on May 19th! I am on the lookout for more cool facts that we have in common.

Celebrate your fam, Waynes!

nik

Last but not least, one of my favorite songs, Kanaka Wai Wai. It is a traditional hawaiian hymn and plays in the background of this tribute to Queen Lili`uokalani.

Sleep Tight Waynes,

nik

For now, however, I need your help! I know, right, some nerve I have abandoning you and then putting you to work all of a sudden! Some parent I am But I think you might have some fun with this one. So, party peeps, let me tell you about my latest undertaking: A good ol’ fashioned summer Scavenger Hunt! Woohoo! The newspaper for the county I live in, the Contra Costa Times, is hosting a summer travel Scavenger Hunt that I am participating in to spice up my summer travels and have some fun capturing unusual things. I have until August 26th to find as many things on the list as possible, and document them by taking a picture with me in it. The newspaper has various categories in which to win, and are giving away different prizes for each. After reviewing the list, the issue now is actually FINDING these things! They are tough! The only rule (besides me being in each photo) is that I have to find the items outside of the SFO Bay Area. That is where you come in, Party Peeps! I have listed below the items I need to find, and am formally requesting your assistance in pointing me in the right direction! If any of you know of something in this list in your town, or in another town outside of the Bay Area, help a girl out! So far this summer, I have trips planned to visit my Grams in the Sierra Foothills in California, to visit my Gramps in Hawai`i and to visit the Lover in Southern California again so I will definitely be looking to fulfill the list in those areas. However, if you have suggestions outside of those areas, please mention them anyway! I just might be willing to make a special roadtrip for that item! I know what you’re thinking: What do I get outta this? So, for every suggestion I receive that turns into an actual submitted photo, I will post the photos along with the suggestions and suggesters, upon completion of the hunt. It will then be up to all of you to vote on the most creative suggestion. That winner will then receive a personalized crafty craft, (it will be something good!) handcrafted by yours truly, via mail. Deal? So, on with it! Here is the list! Your cash donations suggestions are greatly appreciated!

• Town Mascot
• Gas Station adapted for a different use
• Professional Fisherman with Catch
• Town Square Clock
• Headstone inscribed with date before 1800′s
• Double-Decker Bus
• Dog on the Beach
• Me assisting a Street Performer
• A Real Outhouse (no Port-a-Potties allowed)
• Red Barn
• Sign with Mother’s, Ma’s or Mom’s on it (or foriegn equivalent)
• Cobblestone Street
• Oversized Animal Sculpture
• Outdoor Pay Phone
• Statue or Art made entirely from edible food
• A sign that is intentionally or unintentionally funny
• A Camel (bonus point if not in the Zoo)
• Town Sign with Population of 100 or less
• A former Jail
• Something unusual not on the list

I plan on finding a few of these things in Old Town Columbia this weekend in the Sierra Foothills, and will post pics along the way to let you know what I’ve found. So, fire away Party Peeps! 

Party on Waynes,

nik

Crafting

1. Organize my Craft Station at home. (Fabrics and Boxes and Die Cuts, Oh My!)
2. Finish my first batch of boxes to sell.
3. Launch BrownBottomBoxCo. on Etsy.
4. Host a Grand Opening giveaway on my blog. (Refrain from giving away a gag gift like Vaseline or Tobasco Sauce or something.)
5. Find a green, local box vendor to use exclusively.
6. Buy from Etsy whenever possible.
7. Participate in at least one Sneak Attack a month. (Support THE HANDMADE MOVEMENT! If you don’t know what this is – Click, Read and Participate!)
8. Organize another Craft Exchange.
9. Create at least one painting on canvas.

 Financing

1. Pay off my car.
2. Pay off my Credit Card.
3. Pay off at least 1/3 of my student loans.
4. Create a monthly budget sheet; Fill it out and stick to it. (I know, easier said than done, right Party Peeps?)
5. Close a $100,000+ deal at work.
6. Buy a sassy new dress with commission from $100,000+ deal.
7. Lay out/Research details to start my own business.
8. Get a Business License.
9. Get a Resale License.  

Mentoring

1. Take Jewel (my mentee) to the Pottery shop and make some snazzy ceramics.  
2. Help Jewel get a job this summer. (We’re pulling for the Ice Cream Shop!)
3. Go through my old shoes and clothes and give Jewel my hand-me-downs. 
4. Participate in more Be-A-Mentor sponsored local activities, and take lotsa pics!
5. Get Jewel a scrapbook so she can keep track of what we do together.  

House-Beautifying

1. Organize the downstairs closet.
2. Pull all the weeds in the backyard. (Maybe Murph will help me!)
3. Get a Weber.
4. Buy a Patio Set (maybe used from Freecycle or Craigslist).
5. Organize the clothes and shoes in my closet.
6. Buy some handy dandy drawer organizers to go in my dresser.
7. Get rid of clothes/shoes I don’t want.
8. Print out flower photos from Dad’s anniversaries and frame them.
9. Plant a garden in the backyard. (Or maybe we’ll just start with flowers. Don’t push it.)
10. Re-do my board from my Thesis and fill it with pics of family and friends.
11. Organize my files and records at home better.
12. Get a cutesy jewelry organizer and put it to good use.

 Nikkifying

1. Let my hair grow out.
2. Get my teeth bleached.
3. Get back on Weight Watchers.
4. Kick ass on Weight Watchers.
5. Re-do the tattoo on my back for Dad.
6. Get back to LA.
7. Go through the storage unit in Tracy and take out what I want; Get rid of what I don’t.
8. Put all my files/photos from my crashed laptop on an external hard drive.  

Dogging

1. Get Murphy enrolled in some serious Puppy School.
2. Be able to walk with him off the leash.
3. Take him on a kayak.
4. Take him to a retirement home or hospital to spread some smiles.

 Purchasing

1. Buy a used kayak.
2. Buy an iPhone.
3. Buy a new vacuum.
4. Buy a new laptop. (The old one croaked.)

 Romancing

1. Take some hawt pics with the boy. (Maybe on the rocks in Malibu or somethin’.)
2. Bodyboard with the boy as much as possible. (He loves that!)
3. Move in with the boy.
4. Send the boy a sweet, lovey surprise in the mail once a month.
5. Get married. (Ya, you heard me.)
6. Create a scrapbook of pics and momentos to look at when we’re 90.

 Traveling

1. See Etta James in concert.
2. Visit Aunt Stacy in New York.
3. Take the boy to Kaua’i.
4. Visit the Cal Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park.
5. Take Mom to Burke Williams Spa.
6. Spread some of Dad’s ashes in Hawai’i.
7. Visit the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles.
8. Visit the De Young in San Francisco.
9. See Wicked.
10. See Phantom of the Opera.

 Hobbying

1. Get back into surfing.
2. Organize some summer Bocce Ball events.
3. Have the boy teach me more ‘stuff’ about photography.
4. Choose a month to do thirty days of Yoga in a row (a la Hooman Kalili).
5. Organize all my pictures in albums and storage boxes.
6. Join a bike group and do one of those bikes across the city with hundreds of other bicyclists.
7. Enroll in French classes.
8. Enroll in Meditation classes.
9. Learn how to knit.

 Automobiling

1. Get the buggy detailed and all perty.
2. Get the buggy an all-around tune up to check for cancer, tumors and other illnesses.

 Health-erizing

1. Get a booby exam. (Word on the street is you’re never too young!)
2. Complete my vaccinations for Cervical Cancer. (LADIES, If you haven’t done this, get your cute little butts into your gyno and get ‘er dunnn!)
3. Get in for my ’09 super-visit to the dentist.
4. Choose a month (that I am home all month) to do 30 Days of Gym in a row.

 Cooking

1. Get a recipe organizer
2. Organize my recipes.
3. Compile family recipes from Grandma Frey, Grammarcia and Mom.
4. Get a hold of Hawaiian recipes that were Grandma Fyfe’s.
5. Have another homemade Sushi night! (And be sure to make more Sashimi for Phil!)
6. Blog about at least one recipe I’ve made once a month.
7. Host dinner parties more often.
8. On that note, get some cool napkin/placemat settings.

 Working

1. Organize my file cabinets differently so they are more efficient.
2. Organize my shelves.
3. Visit my clients in Hawai’i.
4. Finish all the new tags.

 Reading

1. Get a Kindle.
2. Start blogging about my reads.

 Giving

1. Make/Send surprise Easter gifts for Tommy and Samuel. (Don’t ask what they are…I’m not telling yet!)
2. Send cutesy baby gifts to all the new parents I know once their little ones arrive (so many of you Party Peeps are preggers!)
3. Participate in more charity/fundraising events.
4. Utilize Freecycle more often.

 Last But Not Leasting….

1. Keep a list of all 101 goals in my bag and mark them off as I complete them. Blog accordingly!

Party on Successful Waynes,

Nik

My plan is to post my list of 101 goals, and then update you fine ladies and gents with images and proof that I completed them along the way. If you look to the right, ya g’ahead, you will see a list of handy dandy blog categories, including a new one called (You guessed it!) 101 in 1001. All of the updates on the goals will go in this category (Eat your heart out, Martha!).  So, first things first – I need to finish my goal list! I have started it, and have found that my OCD list-loving brain would prefer me to break down my 101 goal list into sub-categories such as Crafting, Financing, Beautifying, Dogging..among a list of other ING-friendly adjectives that tickle my fancy. So, the number one goal on my list will be to (drum roll, please) Write Down My Goals!  That is what I will complete by Monday. At which point, I will post it for all of you to critique, point & laugh, or whatever you wish. In the meantime, here is a sneak peek at some goals that I have established thus far:

• Pull all the weeds in the backyard
• Host a kick-ass BBQ for Summer Solstice.
• Let my hair grow out.
• Be able to walk Murph off the leash.
• Close a $100,000+ deal at work.

And the list shall continue The thing I like about this excercise is that it combines both long and short term goals. Stay tuned on Monday for my finalized list…and feel free to check back over the next 1001 days to root me on and kick my butt when I’m not accomplishing anything. Here’s to success, party peeps! In the words of Raechelski…Bring it on, Goals! “I’m kicking butt and taking names!”

Party On Wayne,

Nik

The boy sent these to me today. See more at The Pink Coyote. My favorite? The Camel from 2007.

Party on Poodles,

Nik

The biggest thing on my plate right now is my Social Calendar. The reality is that from now through Fall it seems my weekends have mysteriously just been booked. I don’t know how it happened, I don’t know who pencils in these trips in my datebook…it just happens. Must be the vacation gnomes. Here are some of the highlights and bunches full of excitement that I am going to be partaking in over the next few weeks. Should you be in any of the areas where I will be, give me a holler and let’s have a glass of wine or four together!

• This weekend is my Aunt Stacy’s Going Away Party.  She’s abandoning us moving to New York to be with her sweetie pie, Nancy, so in celebration of that we will be throwing her a shindig filled with lots of gag gifts and schmoozing. I am pulling for Pin The Tail on the Donkey, but my Grandma said No. Who tells their Grandkids NO to P.T.T.O.T.D.??
• The next weekend, I am abandoning the fam going to see my sweetie pie in LA. Chyeah! I will also get to see my dear newly-blonde pal, Stacy for her birthday. The weekend will close with a much-anticipated Easter fest at Raech & Jack’s new digs! I can’t wait to see the grass green living room and catch up with my dear friends who I miss sooooo much
• The weekend after that the boy is coming up for camping at Dhillon’s Beach! Ya, I get to see him TWO weekends in a row! What a lucky girl. We’re loading up the fam and the pups and spending the weekend on the coast. If we’re feeling really ballsy, we might even take a jump in the Arctic Pacific Ocean and catch a few waves.  All depends on if we are in the mood for a little Hypothermia.
• The weekend after THHATTT is the sassiest of all sassafrass. I’m not sure I should even say it out loud; The sass gods might strike me down. I’ll say it quickly – OhMyGoshTheGirlsAreComingUpFromL.A.ForAWineWeekendInSonoma… GirlsOnlyOnTheLoose. And that’s all we’ll say about that! I can hardly contain my excitement.
• Two weekends after THHATTT is…hold your horses…NOLA! Yet another Girls Weekend…on the loose in the French Quarter. Holy Beads, Batman! It has always been a dream of mine to spend my birthday in New Awlins, and this year I get my wish! (And my lucky number is 9, and it’s 2009…wierd!) PLUSSS, my Gramps is joining us for the birthday dinner so I will be with some of my favorite peeps!
• Last but not least, the bro and I have begun planning our trip to Hawaii this summer for the Muller-Keka`ula Family Reunion. We have lots of cool things in mind and are sooo looking forward to spending some time with the Gramps and the rest of the fam!

Stay tuned throughout the summer for pics and momentos from the festivities. In the meantime, I know all of you party peeps have some cool party plans going on this Summer. What are you doing? Let’s share! Yay – Show and Tell

Party On Travelers,

Nik

Tomorrow, we will be celebrating his birthday at his Gma and Gpa’s house, with his favorite Aunt Makana. We will of course have a traditional Irish meal of Corned Beef and Cabbage (my fave!), and I am going to stop by the Puppy Bakery and get some birthday treats. I’ll definitely post some pics of the St. Birth-rick’s day festivities! 

Party on MurphyPants,

Nik

The Ivory Orchids bag from Purseona. I am so in love! Some of the other bags that the designer has in the store have knitted flower broaches on them. Such an adorable detail! In typical me-me-me fashion, I emailed the designer this afternoon to see if it would be possible to get a flower broach for my purse as well. I figure, the broach and the purse could be pals, and could, you know, keep eachother company when they are alone in my work locker or something for an extended period of time. Plus, they look much cuter and more accessorized with the broach! I will definitely take a glamour shot when the bag arrives, and let you know the outcome of the broach inquiry. In the meantime, check out Purseona’s other great bags, as I included a link above. Have a great afternoon, Party Peeps. I am just lounging this afternoon and soaking in my misery ( the boyfriend went back to LA this afternoon after a quick, snugglicious visit to see moi. I miss him already!) Now it’s time to get back to my flick for the afternoon, ‘Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist’. I highly recommend it thus far – it’s funny and cute! If you liked Juno, you’ll love N.A.N.I.P.  Toodles Party Peeps!

Party on Wayne,

Nik

 CASPER’S HOT DOGS! I can’t think of another food that reminds me of my Podge more. There were so many days when I would tromp into Casper’s in my baseball cleats and tee-ball uniform. Podge would always take us to the Casper’s on C Street in Hayward, because it was near the baseball fields we used to play at. When we moved out to Tracy later on in the mid-90′s, he would stop at the Casper’s on Foothill in Castro Valley every now and then on his way home from work and bring us home a hot dog. We discovered later that you could buy the dogs from Costco, but they just weren’t the same. There is something about that finely grated cheddar. and the bun-steaming machines inside the Casper’s restaurants that make them out of this world. People in LA brag about Pink’s, but I have to admit, there is just no comparison to Casper’s.

I was also reminded of Podge earlier this week at Kaiser. I had to get some blood drawn and the nurse in the lab who helped me was named Claire. Besides my most popular nickname, Queen, Dad also used to call me Claire sometimes when I was little. It was short for another name he made up for me, and I have no idea where it came from.  He would call me Chang Lau Loopie Saint Claire. He had all kinds of these multi-nationality, run-on names for all of us. He would call Bobby things like Cleetus or Jones, and would combine them with whatever other words he came up with that day to make the name longer and more outrageous. Whenever we played a game, he would fill out the score cards and write simply “Shaun” for his name, and then write out “Chang Lau Loopie Saint Claire” for my name. His sense of humor and imagination was out of control!

There are tons of other things that remind me of him that I see from time to time, so I will share them with you Party Peeps as they come up. For now, I am going to wrap it up. I’m due for another dose of meds and am starting to feel a bit nauseous from looking at the computer screen (Ahh, the joys of recovery). I hope all of you find smiles and joy in your memories of Podge. Feel free to share a story or reminder of him if you want. I would love to read them!

Party on Podge,

Nik