Aloha from Maui!   Since moving here two months ago we (a family of four ) have visited many of Maui's local restaurants and I would like to share with you some of my thoughts and opinions.

MY PERSONAL FAVORITE

Jamie Oliver's new show "Food Revolution" has been the most refreshing change to see on television.  I hope all parents that have their children in public school get a chance to tune in to the show.  We homeschool our children so we don't struggle with most of the issues the show talks about but I am very aware of the food epidemic in this country.  With both parents having to work just to make ends meet,  food ends up being whatever is fast and conveinient and that isn't always good for our families.  AND with there being a fast food joint on every corner

     Today marks an epic event in the Dalton family.  We created a new system for behavior modification.  We have for years, been struggleing with temper tantrums.

It all started with a good friend who loved to frequent Starbucks.  At this time I was not into coffee, but every time I went out with her we ended up with a coffee in our hands.  I started with Mochas and was deaply in love with them and then quickly discovered a thickness accumulating around different areas of my body.  Bummer!  Then as a saving grace to my pocketbook and waistline another friend of mine turned me on to just getting an Americano with a squirt of chocolate.  This satisfied my need for the mochas, although now I had aquired a pretty strong addi

     After being on vacation for the last five days I am excited to get back to eating a more Raw Food based diet.  Eating out practically every meal when you are on vacation quickly shows you the importance on home cooked food especially raw quisine.  I have noticed a considerable amount of grogginess, lack of motivation, a general feeling of bloatedness  and lack of bathroom regularity.  When I eat a mainly Raw Food diet I don't have any of these issue.  So, Here's to getting back to a more conscious way of eating for my health and vitality!

      After returning from a trip to Maui I gained some much  needed perspective for living either on the Big Island,HI or Maui.  We currently live on the Big Island with our two young children.  We have experienced some frustrations trying to raise our children here.  The options for schooling for middle and lower class families leaves something to be desired.  There are no shortages of great private schools but that is exclusive to those who can afford it and honestly, I think that is a very small percentage of the population here.

I have learned the greatest lesson lately.  For years I have been struggling with my personal boundaries with people.  Normally other people's expectations and feelings and needs would spill over onto me and I would take them on as something of my own to deal with, always feeling like I needed to do something for them or just felt obligated to them.  I have started saying no to more and more activities and involvements with people and at first I had terrible anxiety that it would upset this or that person and they would take it personally.  That is just another layer to

Recently my kids have been wanting to watch the show "Super Nanny" so I've been watching it with them.  My kids are 8 and 10 now so watching the show was a great way to reflect on how far we've come.  Many of the issues Super Nanny deals with are issues that we went through when our kids were younger.  We were able to watch how they handled things and reflect on how we delt with those same issues.  It helped for our kids to see other children that were doing some of the things that they used to do or still do and then see how the parents were handling it. 

I have recently been going to a women's circle.  A women's circle is when a small group of women get together and share time together.  This particular group gets starts by joining hands in a circle and someone sings a song or says a prayer.  Then we sit in a circle around the room. There is usually a talking stick or something to hold while the first person talks. It is passed around to whomever is ready to share their thoughts or feelings.  All things said or shared in the circle is confidential to that group only.

Living in a climate that is suitable for growing year round has been the greatest blessing for learning and experimenting.  In the five short months of living here I have had numerous experiences with different insect invasions.  Ants in particular.  They haven't seemed phased by any of the deterrents I have tried.  I am an avid believer in organic gardening so I have tried to use only the safe methods.  I tried ground orange peels, coffee grounds, cinnamon, baby powder,  borax traps with almost no possitive results.  The ants have successfully eaten all o