the fam

the aida clan. jared, james, vickie, kelly, justin, and garrett

over christmas break we got a few days to spend with the aida fam in huntington beach. it was good to see everyone and justin was over joyed to have "the brothers" back together again. its a rare sight to have them all together. this is a great group of guys and a wonderful family. i'm blessed to be a part of it. the love in between justins fam is amazing and a true example of unconditional love.

politics

So Justin sent this to me earlier this morning and I thought it was very interesting. Not that I am endorsing Barack, and Im certainly not endorsing Hialry, but I think its a good to check out everything they say, even the little stuff.

Say what, Barack?
Posted on June 28, 2007 - 2:15 pm by MorningGlory By Paul R. Hollrah

Tuning in to C-Span recently, I found myself listening to a speech by Senator Barrack Hussein Obama, Jr. He was standing in the pulpit of a black church in Selma, Alabama, and as I studied the body language of the dozen or so black ministers standing behind the senator, I couldn’t help but be reminded of the little head-bobbing dolls that people used to place in the rear windows of their 1957 Chevrolets. If their reactions are any indication, the new Schlickmeister of the Democrat Party is actually a pretty accomplished public speaker. However, as he spoke, I found my BS alarm going off repeatedly, but I couldn’t quite figure out why until I actually read excerpts of his speech several days later. Here’s part of what he said:

“..something happened back here in Selma, Alabama. Something happened in Birmingham that sent out what Bobby Kennedy called, “ripples of hope all around the world.” Something happened when a bunch of women decided they were going to walk instead of ride the bus after a long day of doing somebody else’s laundry, looking after somebody else’s children.

“When (black) men who had PhD’s decided ‘that’s enough’ and ‘we’re going to stand up for our dignity,’ that sent a shout across oceans so that my grand father began to imagine something different for his son. His son, who grew up herding goats in a small village in Africa could suddenly set his sights a little higher and believe that maybe a black man in this world had a chance.

“… So the Kennedy’s decided we’re going to do an air lift. We’re going to go to Africa and start bringing young Africans over to this country and give them scholarships to study so they can learn what a wonderful country America is.

“This young man named Barack Obama got one of those tickets and came over to this country. He met this woman whose great great- great-great-grandfather had owned slaves; but she had a good idea there was some craziness going on because they looked at each other and they decided that we know that, (in) the world as it has been, it might not be possible for us to get together and have a child. There was something stirring across the country because of what happened in Selma, Alabama, because some folks are willing to march across a bridge. So they got together and Barack Obama Jr. was born. So don’t tell me I don’t have a claim on Selma, Alabama. Don’t tell me I’m not coming home to Selma, Alabama.”

Okay, so what’s wrong with that? It all sounds good… but is it? Obama told his audience that, because some folks had the courage to “march across a bridge” in Selma, Alabama, his mother, a white woman from Kansas, and his father, a black Muslim from Africa, took heart. It gave them the courage to get married and have a child. The problem with that characterization is that Barrack Obama, Jr. was born on August 4, 1961, while the first of three marches across that bridge in Selma didn’t occur until March 7, 1965, at least five years after Obama’s parents met. Obama went on to tell his audience that the Kennedys, Jack and Bobby, decided to do an airlift. They would bring some young Africans over so that they could be educated and learn all about America . His grandfather heard that call and sent his son, Barrack Obama, Sr., to America. The problem with that scenario is that, having been born in August 1961, the future senator was not conceived until sometime in November 1960. So, if his African grandfather heard words that “sent a shout across oceans,” inspiring him to send his goat-herder son to America, it was not Democrat Jack Kennedy he heard, or his brother Bobby, it was Republican President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Obama’s speech is reminiscent of Al Gore’s claim of having invented the Internet, Hillary Clinton’s claim of having been named after the first man to climb Mt. Everest… even though she was born five years and seven months before Sir Edmund climbed the mountain, and John Kerry’s imaginary trip to Cambodia. As one of my black friends, Eddie Huff, has said, “We need to ask some very serious questions of the senator from Illinois. It’s not enough to be black, it’s not enough to be articulate, and it’s not enough to be eloquent and a media darling… The only question will be how deaf an ear, or how blind an eye, will people turn in order to turn a frog into a prince.”

actually tagged this time.. thanks clara!

Tagged by clara
All about my husband and me….

What is his name? Justin Hideki Aida
How long have you been together? we are quickly coming up on our 3 year anniversary (march 26)
How long did you date? we were friends for a year, each dating other people, but after a big crush from him and me finally wise-ing up, we dated for one week before talking about marriage, 2 1/2 months later got engaged, then married 3 months after that.
Who eats more? justin
Who said I love you first? i asked if he would ever stop loving me before he ever said "i love you".
Who is taller? justin- 6'5''
Who is smarter? justin. he is like a sponge, he only needs to hear it once and it is locked in. totally helps with the law school
Who does the laundry? mostly me, but he helps out alot.
Who does the dishes? we lost our good friend the dish washer in the last move, so we try to split them 50/50. i have to give credit, he really helps out with these.
Who sleeps on the right? i do. the left is too close to the wall.
Who pays the bills? i do all money matters. bills, budget, credit, whatever.
Who mows the lawn? we both neglect that. i think we hope it will not grow any more if we just ignore that its there.
Who cooks dinner? I do most of the time. i go through waves of easy quick dinners and more elaborate supper time. currently im in a quick dinner mood.
Who drives when you are together? i do. my lil asian driver "is no good". although he is excellent at driving on the left.
Who is more stubborn? i am, hands down.
Who kissed who first? i kissed him. he was taking his time.
Who asked who out first? i dont know if there was a formal asking out. we had talked about hanging out when he got back from utah, but we were already friends by then so we had "hung out" a bit.
Who proposed? he did. we went to a beautiful lookout over laguna and watched the most beautiful sunset i've seen to this day (shown in the header). he waited till it was completely dark out (working up the nerves/ waiting for everyone else to leave). after we ate at Ruby's. although i must say i had already bought my wedding dress by that point.
Who has more siblings? tied. justin- 3 bro's, kelly- 2 bro's and 1 sis
Who wears the pants? i like to think i have on capris and he has some shorts.

Tag- Sheri, Lisa and Stephanie and all who stumble upon this.

under construction

sorry, i am in the process of revamping my blog. i have been growing ever so sick of the look it currently has, however, i have yet to find something i like better. please pardon the "not-so-cute-ness". Thanks

lunar eclipse

so did everyone catch the lunar eclipse? super cool. it started just after i got off work so i hurried home and got out my camera. i headed to the top of skinners butte, an easy drive in the middle of town, to get the best view not obstructed by trees. there were already tons of people there, but i was able to get these great shots. and a few of eugene by night.
quick question... is the lunar eclipse something that the whole world sees? or is it only a hemisphere thing? any one know?

new adventure

so yesturday we bought our tickets.

March 2008
Beijing, Xi'an and Guangzhou
China

new years resolution

i know these are supposed to be done around january first, but where does it say you cant change in the middle of february. i've decided i want to read more books. i have never been much of a reader but i thought i would start a new chapter, turn a new page (insert whatever cheesey line you would like). with so many movies based off of the best selling books, i usually end up watching it and then thinking i have no need to read any. well that is all going to change. i joined this online book club, goodreads.com, and have come up with a few goals to help me manage my reading. i am going to finish every book i start (a previous problem, i have little determination to finish something im not liking), and start the next one within a week of finishing another. this will be my goal.

so what i need from you is any recommendations of great books to help get me started and enthused about my new resolution. wish me luck!!

Day Fourteen: Kuata to Nadi and home to LA

this was our last day... *tear* we were bummed that the wonderful journey was on its last leg, and we would heading back to the real world tonight. we said goodbye to our new friends in the morning as they headed further up the island chain, and took refuge on a hammock. this happened to be the only day out of our time in fiji when it rained, which is weird considering it was "rainy season". but it brought a whole different experience to the island (mainly it wasnt as hot). as the rain hit the ocean, it calmed it more than before and left the orchids and flowers with a beautiful clean look. you realize rain is natures bath, everything after ward looks clean and refreshed (but only speratic rain, non of this oregon everyday stuff). we hung out till the boat came at 3:30 and then said goodbye to our new friends and wonderful island. it was sad to leave, but the memories we made through out the trip will last forever.

we had timmed it up just right that we would get back to the marina around 6, and our flight would leave for LA around 10:30. or so we thought. after having 3 out of the 3 flights we had taken with this airline be delayed, we werent going to hold our breath. everything seemed fine as we reached the airport, all was fine as we watched the passengers depart from the previous flight, and then 10 minutes before boarding, they announce there will be a delay, but not just any delay. instead of leaving at 10:30, is was no postponed until at least 2:30 pm tomorrow!! no kidding. not to mention that they had only 3 people to help all 500 passengers get set up with a hotel for the evening and all their meals. not to mention after that, we had to re- go through customs again and match up our original entry forms with one out of a pile of hundreds from all the people that had gone through today. did i mention that fijian time is nothing like the quick paced, efficientcy we are used to in america? i took 2 hours to find a hotel and go through customs. luckily this wasn't our first time doing this and we were able to request the same novotel that we stayed in on the first day (im sure the nicest hotel in nadi). and we made some friends with an older couple in the line that were from orange county also. we had plenty of time to chat and learn about their travels. anyways, we finally got back to our hotel and had a wonderful nights sleep.

Im not going to blog about the next day, mostly because there are no pretty pictures to go along with it. lets just say, we spent that day hanging around the hotel, in the pool, in our room and not doing much of anything. our flight ended up leaving around 5:30 that night, and we touched down to LA at 7:30am on new years eve. What a trip!!!

After all that, we had the time of our lives. as we look back on everything we got to do, smiles streak our face because of the wonderful adventure. we were probably the least effected by it all. even though the schedule wasnt what we expected, it didnt ruin any other plans, we arrived every where safely, and had some random experiences because of it. we are so thankful that we had the opportunity to go, and can't wait to get back there again.

Moral of the story, stear clear of air pacific!!!! you will spend most of the vacation delayed, postponed and in airports waiting.

Day Thirteen: Kuata

today we spent the morning swimming across the canal to the opposite island with our new friends from the previous night. the set up was joanna and marpessa on the kayak, me on the surf board and justin and mandy swimming. it didnt seem as far from on land as it did once we were swimming. once we got to the other island, we looked around their village, and went to the other resort. this one was alot nicer than the facilities we were at, with alot more people and a volleyball net. the people were very nice and gave a us a tour of the whole place. alot of the employees were family to people on our island, most of which we knew very well now, so it was fun to talk with them. on the way back to our island, i decided i would try swimming since the board was so squirrly. i was good untill when i would put my head down, i could no longer see what was beneath me. luckily, justin let me hook on to him and we made a board train where he paddled and i kicked. i thought it worked out really well. also in the ocean there, they have sea lice, which feels like a little sting followed by itching irritation. this was awfully hard to keep swimming through a patch of and have to continue. but swimming over the reefs was great. they had blue startfish and tons of colorful fish. awesome!! -view from the hammock

crazy house built into a rock

after lunch, as you can probably guess by this point, we ressumed our spot in a hammock and fell into our typical routine of sleeping, reading, and writing in my travel log of all our adventures. that night we had a great feast and did the bula dance. think of a fijian macarena and thats what makes up the bula dance. between that and the kava, it was a good night.

this week

i love the smell of: honeydoo candles
i love the taste of: yummy superbowl snacks
i love the sound of: a house full of our wonderful friends.
i love the feel of: a cozy blanket around me as i watch a good movie
i love the sight of: justin and his father together again
i love the thought of: my mom coming to visit this weekend... yeah!!!

not really tagged.. but doing it anyway

10 years ago:
i was 12 and in the 7th grade at summit middle school (go sharks!). begging my mom to let me shave my legs (the rule was i couldn't till i was 14. ), i had just gotten my ears pierced (another rule that i had to wait till i was twelve), i was spending mondays and tuesday at my dads house, wednesdays and thursdays at my mom's and alternating weekends (talk about the headache of child custody), i had just gotten my first D in school and spent the summer in catholic summer school.

5 things on my to-do list today:
1. do the laundry before my father-in-law comes
2. clean the house
3. blog/email/facebook
4. get my pay check from work, yeah!!!
5. get stamps to mail in the bills

I enjoy:
traveling, playing with my hubby, playing with my puppy, talking to friends, finding old friends on facebook, blogging, shopping, taking pictures, watching movies, DVR, our new tv, baking yummy snacks, hanging out with friends, playing dress-up, cold stone, bepe & gianni's, milk, rootbeer floats, chocolate coverd strawberries, mom's cookies/cinnamon rolls/fondant/ anything else she makes, playing volleyball, coaching water polo, running in the cold, going to the beach, playing on a boat, sleeping in and the list goes on and on...

What would I do if I were suddenly made a billionaire:
pay off justins law school loans, complete my around the world trip, buy a house and a land rover, set up savings accounts for my kids, buy a house in new zealand, invest, start the clothing buisness "mattida", shop...alot, and make sure that it will last us the rest of our lives.

3 of my bad habits:
1. arriving late to church
2. working out, then eating ice cream to counter act the working out
3. thinking my way has to be the best way

5 places I have lived:
1. eugene, or
2. rancho cucamonga,ca
3. newport beach, ca
4. huntington beach, ca
5. irvine, ca (im a so-cal girl)

5 jobs that I have had:
1. physical therapy aide at the U of O health center
2. physical therapy aide in huntington beach
3. waitress at soma cafe (now closed, but used to be a really yummy healthy resturant in newport coast)
4. office worker at my dads dr.'s office
5. ... i havent worked at five jobs yet, but i might be coaching high school water polo next year, ill keep you posted

5 things people don't know about me:
1. i was an all-american in water polo in high school
2. i hate my hand writing, HATE it. i would rather chicken peck type something out than have to look back at my hand writing.
3. i love to make lists... seriously, i have one for everything. from where i want to go before i die, to my list of my lifes little pleasures, to what is on my list today.
4. i would love to live internationally for a few years.
5. i have the invisilign retainers to make my teeth straighter.