A Night in the Life

We were having an old favorite called Yakiniku (Japanese sauce on meat and vegetables cut paper thin, and cooked on a fry pan on the dinner table). The sauce is amazing! Tangy, spicy, and rare. We treat it like gold, as it's difficult to come by. The kids do OK with chopsticks, and LOVE rice as much as bread in this home. It helps that Lisa is an amazing cook, and served a mission in Hong Kong. She makes more Japanese food than Chinese food. Thanks Lisa! They say you tend to give to others in your 'language of love'. For Lisa, 'Acts of Service' are at the top of her list. Fortunately, she doesn't expect me to cook anything more than corndogs for the kids. I served a mission in Japan, so I am de-LIGHTED to eat anything Asian that she makes!

Parker likes his octopus cheater-chopsticks, but will usually take the real thing if given a chance. This evening, his brothers took the real thing. I am slowly bringing Parker along in the ways of SUSHI, starting him out with California Rolls, which I always call SUSHI. He eats them now any chance he gets. He has already had a few rolls with fresh (and uncooked) Maguro (fatty tuna), which he liked. Soon I'll have a buddie to eat all sorts of SUSHI with, since Lisa takes no interest in the REAL stuff. By the way, Lisa doesn't eat s either unless the preparation is perfect. She doesn't like the 'slimey' texture, and she deTESTs Enoki s. It's so sad. Enoki s make a boiling pot of NABE just right. Oh well. Otherwise, she is open to a VERY diverse variety of foods. Indeed, on our first date she boldy declared "I just love good food, and I love to eat!" I didn't know what she meant, since I was raised on Hamburger Helper (bless you mom), but Lisa can really spend a LOT of time cooking something delicious, even if she knows the kids won't eat it. We are perfectly content to eat the good stuff, and throw a corn dog or chicken nugget in the microwave for a disaffected child. Their loss, not ours.


Oh, regarding the pictures on this blog that are often taken in our too brightly decorated kitchen - please excuse the interesting paint job we inherited when we moved in a year or so ago. At least it's bright!

We ARE planning on redoing the kitchen, after a few more major projects are finished! :)


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You may noticed that Scott LOVES to dress up. This is his latest design in paintball gear. He has on my ski helmet, and a neck pillow with a communication device fashioned from a pencil, a broken toy, and some tape. His goggles are from his recent birthday, and the chopsticks...well, this was SUPPOSED to be dinner time. Those goggles are his 'night vision' goggles. He loves them, even though they are nothing more than cheap glasses with a flashlight installed between the eyes. Cute kid! You have to give it to him, he's ultra-creative.

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Mr Thomas loves to get on the table. They were hungry and ready to eat when I took these pics. Such a silly, cute little boy. Tonight, while shopping at Trader Joe's, he stopped a man he didn't know, and said "If you see me again, you can say 'Hi!'" You should have seen all three of them, with little shopping carts, following us around the store. For those who don't know Trader Joe's, a California favorite, it is as important to California dwellers as In-N-Out. We are very, VERY lucky to have one here, as the next closest Trader Joe's is in Chicago, Nashville, and Indianapolis.

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