Sushi Evolution

Ryan introduced me to sushi when we first started dating. Our favorite place to get sushi was Sumo's. Back in the day before they moved to 13th and Greenwich this place was like Cheers for us. We know the owners, so everytime we came in we were greeted by name and they would come over and chat with us.

So when Ryan and I moved from the east side of town to the west side of town we were pushed farther away from our favorite sushi restaurant. We would occasionally go to Sumos, but it was always planned and never a spur of the moment decision. It was our delightful surprise later to discover Tokyo Steakhouse had expanded to include a brand new sushi bar which helped with our sushi cravings. The food was just as good as Sumo's but quite a bit cheaper.

Well, change is never easy. Imagine our surprised when we tried to go eat sushi on Monday and the sushi bar was closed. We tried again Tuesday night and they were back in business but with one very surprising change. According to the hostess, the assistant manager, the head sushi chef, along with his other sushi workers all walked off the job over the weekend! At least the new replacements made good sushi.

It's the simple things in life ...

Yippie! Today I traded in my 3 year old faithful, but battery-sucking phone for a classy new Sanyo Katana. Think a Motorola Razr but Sanyo makes it. Oh how wonderful it is to have a new phone! I just love how you first get it and it's all fresh and new. You get to change all the settings and get new ringers to identify your friends and family. Yes, it may be slightly geeky, but it's so pretty and shiny!

What a way to start the weekend!

I went out of town last weekend with my parents to go to Arkansas to visit our family on Bull Shoals lake. I took off Friday from work so we could get out of town earlier. So what did the powers that be decide would the best way for me to spend the weekend? Twisting my ankle Friday morning on the way out of town! What a bummer. Good thing is that it didn't break and after a few days on crutches I'm almost like new!

Quit it babe!

We had Ryan's brother Kiel over tonight for dinner and a few rounds of Wii Sports. The boys were setting up the game - Ryan is always player #1. When Kiel was trying to pick his character, Ryan chirps out "Babe, hurry up!" Kiel turns to him and says "Babe?!" How funny.

Living Room

How does this furniture arrangement look?

Tastes like kiwi!

I was able to find my dragon fruit this weekend at the Thai Bihn Supermarket.  It's a very strange and interesting fruit.  It was very easy to cut - a knife will slide right through the flesh like a knife through water.  The fruit tastes very mild and refreshing.  The seeds pop in your mouth!  This fruit is very similar to kiwi, but not as tangy.  It's also not quite as sweet as watermelon.  I'm going to try making dragon sorbet next!

Dragon Hunting!

I was watching some cooking show on TV the other day and they were discussing different types of fruit in energy drinks. There's this fruit called a dragon fruit that has become increasingly popular. I haven't tried any of the energy drinks, but there's a very yummy kind of gum that contains dragon fruit flavoring.

I've decided to go hunting for dragon fruit this weekend. I've read from the web that the fruit can be found at Whole Food stores or at Vietnamese supermarkets. If I'm successful, I'm going to try my hand at making dragon sorbet, dragon jam and dragontinis!

Star Gazing

Ryan and I brought our telescope out last night in the backyard. We live just on the edge of town, so we get away from much of the city lights.

The telescope we have is pretty awesome too. It has a remote control that you can select what you want to look at and the telescope will automatically move and locate it. A few of the highlights from last night's viewing included Jupiter and six moons, Andromeda Galaxy, Vega and a few other stars and galaxies.

We can't wait until later in the month for a meteor shower (August 12) and a lunar eclipse (August 26)!

Good Genes

I received this picture from my mom of when she was younger (not sure how old she was).  

What a cutie!  

I can see where some of my features come from. Especially the freckles!

Strange Plants

We went to Lowes this weekend and found this odd looking plant on the shelf.  We couldn't help but buy it.  It's a pineapple plant.  The pineapple looking part really does smell like a ripe pineapple.  This plant is going some place where the kitties can't reach it since there's a nice warning that the fruit isn't edible.

We also purchased a pony tail palm tree on our trip.  In addition to our strange new plants, we have hostas planted in the front yard with towering 5 foot flower blooms!  I called these "alien cabbage" before we learned what they were.