Sharde

Birth Story and Women Powahhh!

By Sharde on Monday, December 22, 2014

Our daughter was born on November 9, 2012 at home (pictured above). She was born at home into the loving and safe environment of family (me and my husband), our midwife who is also a naturopathic doctor, and the midwife’s awesome assistant and doula. Choosing to have a home birth was one of the best decisions of my life, and we look forward to welcoming baby #2 into the world with a home birth too!

I LOVE telling our birth story to those who are interested, but most people think I’m crazy. At the core, I wanted to highlight the awesome power that wahine before us, and that will come after, possess–which I refer to for the purposes of this blog post as, “women powahhh!” While I came to believe and learn about woman powahhh through our daughter’s birth, I have often tapped back into this same core of mana for everything in life–getting through law school, continuing to grow and learn to become a mother and wife, and the list is growing!

The woman has the powah! Coming from the perspective that the woman possesses the strength, wisdom, and know-how to birth a baby, this manaʻo resonates and is consistent with not only Hawaiian manaʻo and mythology (especially with regards to birthing), but also other knowledge about birthing shared by midwives with generations of experience in assisting with births…even before hospitals existed!

No matter if one decides to give birth in the hospital, at home, in the back of a valley, or Kahoʻolawe, praising and supporting our wahine as one who harnesses this special power is truly important.

I am so thankful to be supported, and surrounded myself, by other mana wāhine who remind me that women have the powahhh! Let’s continue to support our wahine (hapai), especially in such a magical and precious time in bringing the next generation (babies or other forms of birthing knowledge) into this world.

māmā

Please Support the Patsy T. Mink Legislative Fellowship

By Sharde on Thursday, December 11, 2014

(Click here for source of photo.)

Patsy Mink. You’ve at least heard her name, and if you ask around, at least one of your family members likely worked with her, or has a personal experience to which the late Congresswoman Mink’s legacy is directly the reason for why we are afforded the opportunities we have today. Congresswoman Mink’s legacy continues to be recognized today as President Obama posthumously awarded Congresswoman Mink with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Born on Maui, Congresswoman Mink was the first woman of color elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1965, where she served a total of 12 terms, representing Hawai‘i’s first and second congressional districts. Congresswoman Mink championed civil rights, peace, and integrity in the democratic process until she passed away in 2002.

The Patsy T. Mink Legislative Fellowship. Shortly after her sudden passing, a group of students at the William S. Richardson School of Law established the Patsy T. Mink Legislative Fellowship to honor the values and integrity of Congresswoman Mink’s life work. Each year, the Fellowship selects one Richardson law student, to work with one of Hawai‘i’s Congressional offices in Washington D.C. for the summer.

My Fellowship Experience and the Continued Impact. I feel so fortunate to have been chosen as the 2012 Fellow. As a Fellow, I fulfilled my appointment in the late Senator Daniel K. Inouye’s office in Washington, D.C. My experience as a Fellow was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Senator Daniel K. Inouye with my mom, me, and baby Kawena in my ʻōpū.

I was hapai with Kawena at the time, the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on the Affordable Care Act came down, and Fast and Furious was beginning to unfold. I attended timely workshops, meetings, hearings, and engaged in many activities only available on Capitol Hill. Additionally, there were three major projects that I worked on over the summer while receiving outstanding mentorship by a Richardson alum.

Outside the U.S. Supreme Court on the day at the decision on the Affordable Care Act was announced.

Often times, I reflect on my Fellowship experience and continue to be amazed as to the impact of not only how Congresswoman Mink’s legacy lives on, but also continuing to afforded opportunities stemming back to my experiences as a Fellow. To name a few examples, I was offered and accepted a position to work with Hawaiʻi State House Representative Della Au Belatti for the legislative session following my Fellowship. Fulfilling my Fellowship in Washington, D.C., and then being able to continue work at the state level was really awesome! One of the three projects that I worked on while fulfilling my Fellowship developed into my Second-Year Seminar paper (a law school requirement completed during the second-year of law school), and involved the medical-legal partnership model. Following law school, I was then offered a position with the Medical-Legal Partnership for Children in Hawaiʻi.

We Need Your Support! My Fellowship experience, and the significance of Patsy Mink’s legacy resonates not only with all other Mink Fellows, but also state and nation-wide. The Fellowship is funded entirely through tax-deductible donations, which are used to help Fellows with living and transportation expenses as well as to help build an endowment for future fellows. Please support the Mink Fellowship! To donate online to the UH Foundation Patsy T. Mink Legislative Fellowship Fund, click here.

aloha ʻāina māmā

A couple of cooking firsts :P

By Sharde on Wednesday, December 10, 2014

My ʻohana and I are continuously trying to push ourselves to not only make smart and healthy food choices, but to also try new recipes. On top of that, there is added excitement during the holiday season to prepare a home cooked meal. In anticipation of hosting friends that we had over for a holiday luncheon, I decided to try to make a roast for the first time! I also made a wrapped brie pastry as an appetizer. Below, I include the recipes I used, pictures, and my reviews of these new recipes.

Pot Roast – Click here for the recipe I used from Picture Perfect Meals.

This recipe was easy to follow, and I was really excited about being able to put everything into the crock pot, and leave it to cook overnight.

When removing the roast and veggies from the crockpot, the meat was so tender and pulled apart easily! The only thing is that I am still undecided if I liked the flavoring of the gravy juices. I think it may be the red wine that I used, but I’m not sure…perhaps my taste buds are a little different since I’m hapai. While it was not overpowering, there was a slight bitterness to the gravy.

Brie Wrapped in Puff Pastry – Click here for the recipe I used from Tablespoon.

There are tons of recipes out there, and I slightly modified the recipe I used to include some parts from other recipes. Some recipes include sliced apples, other recipes use dried fruits, and some even use a chutney or jam. I included sliced Granny Smith apples, and dried cranberries.

This was awesome and I’ll definitely make it again! It’s something that cannot necessarily be made ahead of time, but it is pretty quick to prepare!

We served it with a multi-grain cracker…then again, I had to ask my husband if he wanted a cracker to go with the brie he was eating. HAHA! He loved it! I’m also glad that I added the cranberries because the apple sweetness was a bit mild.

Have you tried any new recipes this holiday season? Any recipes, new to you or a family tradition, you’d like to share? I’d LOVE for you to share your recipes with me to try!

aloha ʻāina māmā

Hauʻoli Lā Kūʻokoʻa!

By Sharde on Friday, November 28, 2014

Hauʻoli lā kūʻokoʻa!!! (Happy Hawaiian Independence day!) There are so many great events that occurred today, or this week, to celebrate today! I especially appreciate our community’s celebrations today because it is yet another example of how we already have sovereignty, including broader definitions of “sovereignty.”

In celebration of Lā Kūʻokoʻa, Kawena (my 2 year old daughter) and I created this ka pīʻāpā (Hawaiian alphabet) chart.

This came after lots of searching/researching for “existing” teaching tools that they sell at the store. There were multiple problems with what’s sold at the store, other than the obvious of it not being ma ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi. Nevertheless, it may not have all the bells and whistles like the charts sold at the store, but we had fun making it and it’ll help her learn 🙂

Also, in celebration of Lā Kūʻokoʻa, we plan to make a loving meal with these produce from Meghan Leialoha Au and Hanalē Bishop of Homestead Poi!

More broadly, creating this chart with my daughter reminded me of how my perspective and importance on planning for future generations has been forever changed. Specifically to lā kūʻokoʻa, this brings to mind what I want Hawaiʻi to look like tomorrow, ten years from now, and seven generations from now. Here’s some manaʻo (from a paper I wrote in law school):

Everyone has a roof over their heads, education is free, and no one goes hungry. Hawaiʻi is a leader in the world because of its sustainable farming practices that sustains it’s over one million person population. Farms are not only a place that sustains the people physically with food to eat, but also medicinal herbs for healing and a safe space for other cultural practices.

How did you celebrate Lā Kūʻokoʻa? What do you want Hawaiʻi (of the future) to look like?

aloha māmā

Making Space

By Sharde on Sunday, November 23, 2014

Admission: I failed the bar exam. It sucks; it really does.

But this post is about making space in order to move forward and prepare for the future.

While I may have failed the bar exam, shortly after taking the bar exam and before I received my bar exam results, we learned that we are pregnant! So as I prepare to take the February 2015 bar exam, we are also preparing for baby #2 in March 2015. Yes, I will be around 8 months pregnant on the testing days of the bar exam. As a friend put it, I will have the “advantage” of two brains instead of one<3

Upon receiving the bar exam results, there are so many emotions that ran through me. But heaviest of all, is realizing the burden of having to study and take the bar exam again. Reflecting on how many things in life got put on “hold,” and having to retreat to an isolated study cave, this is the grimmest reality of it all.

So I thought, why is it this way? It doesn’t have to be like this, does it?! I’m tired of putting things, my family, my life on “hold.” More time passed and further contemplation brewed. Then, I took the PLUNGE! I let myself think about what needs to be cleared from the path, where I need to make space, so that when I do need to buckle down and focus on studying for the bar, I will not only be mentally prepared, but also ready to receive and build upon the knowledge that I have and need to retain.

Interestingly, we are having the same discussions in clearing the path, making space, and preparing for baby. “Nesting” often refers to the physical preparation that we do, but we are also preparing for baby in ensuring that that baby is born in a loving and supportive environment.

As I continue to make space, nest, and prepare for the future, I’ve been noticing the many forms that “making space” takes. In some instances, individuals make space to raise voices that would otherwise go unheard or even silenced. Or, making space can open the doors for something new to shine through.

How are you “making space”?

About Blogging

māmā.aloha.ʻāina Blog is born <3

By Sharde on Friday, November 21, 2014

māmā.aloha.ʻāina blog is born with love from the encouragement of my family and friends. Taken separately, “māmā,” “aloha,” and “ʻāina” each encapsulate my intentions with this blog , my passion, and what gives me life. Similarly, taken together, “māmā aloha ʻāina” can be translated to mean “a mother who loves the land.” To further elaborate on my goals for this blog, the following describes what each component of this blog entails and my passions.

Māmā. Simply, I am a mother. From celebrating life occasions, discovering and learning how to parent, reflecting upon the discomfort that may come through growth and change, trying a new recipe to feed my family, or my continuous personal growth, these are all the different aspects that I look forward to sharing on my journey as a mother, daughter, and wife.

Aloha. Love. A deep instinctive care for the well-being and health of my family and the world. To maintain and care for the relationships with each other and with the environment.

ʻĀina. Land. That, which feeds you. Caring for the farmers, stewards, kuaʻāina of the land. Re-connecting with the land with learning how to garden, farm, and maintain sustainable practices that will feed my family (not only physically, but also mentally and spiritually as well). Being open to the knowledge that the ʻāina teaches us in trying to maintain a “modern” lifestyle while also practicing Native Hawaiian traditional and cultural practices.

Ua hānau ʻia ʻo ia. (She is born.)