TAOTAO TASI: September 2008

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

feeling under the weather today

Hello All...
There is a flu going around and I am sick today (and yesterday) (*cough). I don't really like to take any medication so I will let my flu play it out. The last time I took any flu meds was back in college, as I had an exam the next day.

My kids have not really been eating all their food lately. The school is having a spirit week, and although I wanted to dres up my daughter's lunch in orange and black, I just could not imagine what type of food I could put in, especially because I am feeling under the weather.

I am also going to be moving this weekend, so I hope I get over my flu soon.. (yeap, moving to another house, see my post earlier about things on my head!)

Okay, well, I better go and rest the remainder of today!

Thanks for checking in!

Friday, September 26, 2008

Lunch

Today's lunch is a sub from subway. Kind of feeling too loaded on all the other foods, so we decided to play it safe! I will go to an island barbecue tomorrow, so thought I would save my weekly caloric intake limit till tomorrow evening...more photos coming!

Chamorro Recipes

Want island recipes? log on to the Chamorro.com website. (I submitted a Lantiya recipe there)

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.chamorro.com/images/chamorro.com.gif&imgrefurl=http://www.chamorro.com/community/tsablan_cnmi.html&h=117&w=1024&sz=78&hl=en&start=11&um=1&usg=__4l9cthI3uwSaQH7zmu8pWjq7S5Q=&tbnid=i6Xl1R99S_I7_M:&tbnh=17&tbnw=150&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dchamorro%2Bdesert%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26rls%3Dcom.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox%26rlz%3D1I7DMUS%26sa%3DN

obento

Today is Friday, September 26, 2008

Bento for the kids is fried rice, breaded shrimp, tamagoyaki, ribs, vegetable gyoza, crabclaw, and for desert there is strawberry and also there is chocolate bread roll!

Hey, it's Friday, and I thought I would treat the kids... LOL

It is raining here on the island of Saipan! My camera is acting up! I need to figure out how to take better pictures of bread and or boiled egg. My egg molds and or my bread mold's are not captured as they should be when I photograph it.

Thanks for visiting my blog!

lunch

Pork and Kimchee stirfry, side of pork cutlet with tonkatsu sauce, salad, rice, potato salad. Yummy!

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Foodie Blog Roll

My blog is now featured on Foodie Blog Roll!!! Woohoo! I am so excited to get the privilege of being on Foodie Blog Roll... I will upload photos of my kids obento, local island foods and recipes when possible (any request for island recipes?) and also photos and details of local restaurants (any suggestions? likes/dislikes on local eateries?).

Foodie Blogroll is awesome as it will help me expose my food blogs to people around the world!

Obento

Menu for the day

Steamed White Rice
Steamed Corn on the cob
Steamed kosher beef hotdogs skewered on a mini sword (for my son), or skewered on mini animal picks (for my daughter)
Ground Turkey stirfried with mixed vegetables
Korean style chop che'
Sponge Cake

The small container contains tomato ketchup for the hotdog, there is also another container containing furikake for the top of their rice!

My worries for the day....

I could not get a good night sleep last night. Too many things in my head. My husband and I are in the process of purchasing our 4th home. Actually, two of our homes were inherited, and the other we acquired together. We are considering acquiring another home. This has got me into much serious stress. Do we get it, do we not, etc. You see, if we do get another home, then I would be in another mortgage payment. This isn't really a mortgage though, because we would be paying the landowner instead of the bank (they own the land and home in free and clear title, I know this because I ordered a title search to be done). So, for another year, I would be broke like hell, I mean broke like hell. With my kids in private school, plus they go to private music lessons and also private Japanese class for both, I will be lucky if I even had a damn dollar!

So, is it worth it? These are the things in my head. Naturally anyone would say yes. But my worry is, what if something big comes up this year, I would have no ability to shuffle money around. My idea is to get this house and then get it rented out, like what I have done to our other two houses currently. However, I am unsure if this is the exactly the way it would turn out.

I was also hoping to go on a big vacation, for my entire family. We have not really gone on a trip, as a family, after we moved back from Oregon! I was hoping to go to Japan next month, to splurge on obento items, now, if we do decide on purchasing this house, I would have to cancel my trip. Don't get me wrong though, I would scrounge up every dollar I can get just to buy my obento items! Heck, my husband teases me and says that the obento is more for me and not my kids.. LOL... well, it is my stress reliever. I used to bake alot before, but now my talents have shifted.. (ha @ talents!)

So, what do you think?

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

lunch

Have you noticed that breakfast prices are overly priced at Shirley's? OMG, it now can cost almost $9 for a decent breakfast plate. Anyway, Skyway cafe in San Vicente is very reasonable. $6 for what they call the skyway special, which is an omelette with eggs, bacon, red and green bell peppers, mushroom, sprouts, etc. It tastes delicious, and comes with coffee! For $6 that is a good deal on Saipan.

The only bad part about Skyway Cafe is the lack of ventilation. Serioulsy, I think I'd rather pay a bit more and go to a restaurant that has proper ventilation system, where when I walk out my shirt does not smell like a restaurant. The service at Skyway is inconsistent. Sometimes the waitress are friendly and sometimes they are not. Sometimes the food is served in reasonable time, and sometimes the food takes for ever. It does not matter if there are other people waiting for food or if you are the only customer, the service changes.

Skyway special = $6, includs iced tea or coffee

Ham and cheese omelette, $5.50 includes iced tea or coffeeThis was the dinner last night. I did not take photos of the other orders. This is tofu seafood ramen from Mitsue Restaurant in Oleai (Morgen Building, across Oleai Beach Bar and Grill). The service there is great if Nell is around, otherwise, I prefer not going. This restauant also has ventilation issues. Otherwise the food is tasty, and reasonable.

Tofu Seafood Ramen = $4.00

Lunch..
Moomin for lunch is delicious. Service is always good, and their is really good ventilation.
This is Korean style bibimbab (vegetables over rice). DELICIOUS!
$6.00 with iced tea.

lunch

Today's (09/24/08) obento

Yesterday was such an exhausting day! I am so drained out, I need a vacation!!

I woke up late this morning, therefore I did not have enough time to make my original menu.

The kids had steamed white rice, japanese style stirfry spaghetti noodle with hotdog (not yakisoba), Chasu pork (roast pork), hard boiled egg (shaped into a car for my son, and star for my daughter), my daughter had grilled cheese shaped into a flower, bear, and bunny. Both had a slice of hotdog ontop of their rice, which I did not photograph, and also had a furikake bottle, so they can sprinkle furikake over their rice when they are ready to eat. Because it is raining, I also sent them with a container of soup.

I did not have any time to make their obento look pretty, so I hope they are okay when they open their lunch boxes..

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Obento

Today's bento:

Animal shaped salmon onigiri, breaded shrimp, gyoza, pork steak, sweet potato, rice, crabmeat

Dinner last night (09/22/08)
last night we went to Diamond Chinese Restaurant in Garapan.
We ordered the usual.

*Shrimp crabmeat corn soup, *Beef Brocolli, *Sweet and Sour Pork, *Steamed Rice,
*Hot Tofu and Seafood Hot pot

For desert, we went out for ice cream. Did you know that Shell Puerto Rico sells Dryer's ice cream? $1.25 for two scoops... Other shell stations also have an ice cream special going on like 2 scoops for .99cents but it is not Dryers.. I love Dryers...

Monday, September 22, 2008

The breakfast of champs

I got my breakfast of champs today!!!

2 donuts for me, and 2 donuts for my hubby!!!

never mind the diet, I just enjoy how declious Galaxy's donuts are, especially when they are hot.

Can't have it both ways...

I remember when I lived in Corvallis, Oregon that we would meet my sister in Salem (1 hour away) and then drive to Beaverton, Oregon, just to go to Krispy Kreme! 3 hour drive for us, and 2 hour drive for her, just to get to Krispy Kreme. All that driving, gas and time for DONUTS!
Call it nuts, call it whatever you want, it was delicoious... I miss it! I also remember missing Galaxy's donuts while I was studying in the mainland, but now that I am here, I miss Krispy Kreme...

I MISS KRISPY KREME