The Search for Miss Direction: Freestyle Friday

One of my favorite Beatles songs of all times is "A Little Help From Me Friends" This morning as I surveyed a house FULL of some of the lovely ladies that I am blessed to have as friends and all of their kiddos having quite the time the lyrics "I get by with a little help from my friends" kept running through my head. This morning was just the distraction I needed to get too caught up in the worry about what's going on somewhere in the middle of the Pacific Ocean at the moment. I don't have an update on the situation with my Aunt, though it has been in the back of my head all day. I know it can't even begin to compare with the anxiety and stress I am sure my cousins are under right now and my heart goes out to them and their families. I was so thankful that I was surrounded by people who care about me this morning. I hope that they all had a good time (the disaster created in the playroom makes me know at least the kids did, hehehe). Can't wait to do it again soon!

The overcast skies and on and off rain hasn't helped the 'blah' feelings of today either. I know it's Spring and April showers blah blah blah, but I'm hoping for a weekend full of sunshine and maybe at least slightly warmer temperatures. We don't have any grand plans at this point though I'm thinking cleaning the garage out to make sufficient room for Sasha may be in the works. Yesterday Mikayla and I struck out on our quest to find new 'people' stickers for the back of Sasha. The Rav has Michigan fans and we are hoping to find Tigers fans this time. Have a couple more ideas in mind and then it may be just worth ordering them online.

I decided to keep things kind of low-key around here tonight with an easy dinner and a movie for the kiddos. One food that turned up in my recipe search repeatedly for Hawaii was Spam. The "spiced ham" in a can became a staple during WWII when over 100 pounds were shipped to feed allied troops abroad. It became a staple in Hawaii where it is sometimes even referred to as "Hawaiian Steak." I came across this really interesting blog about why Hawaiians love spam if you're curious how it made its way to the islands. There is even a Spam party! Next Saturday will be the 14th annual Spam Jam in Waikiki. Bummer, we'll have to miss it ;-)

All that being the case, it wasn't like I could 'celebrate' Hawaii this week and not make at least one recipe with Spam in it. So I settled on this simple Mini Spam Sandwich recipe that I thought would be simple fare for a Friday night. Everyone bravely gave it a go, though I don't think it'll become a staple here in Michigan like it is in Hawaii. I made some Hawaiian Garlic Fries to go with it as those too turned up repeatedly in my recipe research for the week.

As I write the kiddos are enjoying watching Lilo & Stitch (even Disney loves Hawaii!) and are munching on some really yummy Hawaiian Crunch that I made for a movie snack. Everyone really liked this. I threw in some dried apricots as well and thought that made it even better.

Like I said, not really sure what the weekend as a whole looks like right now. Sounds like we're going to have some fun with the Janoch's tomorrow night, we will get to the Hawaii mail at some point and I still have a couple fun Hawaiian recipes up my sleeve to try out. So until then...