and some clean sheets, Oh, kimono, oh, kimono!"
A prize for the first person who posts which t.v. show featured these lyrics on a semi-regular basis PLUS the name of the song. Prize is a $25 GC to Omaha Steaks. Don't worry, you don't have to live in Omaha--they have great mail-order (ask me how I know) and the vegans among us (are there any?) may take heart, there are also plenty of veggie side dishes to order. Although how you can bear to listen to a carrot scream is beyond my ken.
I prefer to think of this as promoting blog traffic instead of how indelicately *someone* in my household suggested it sounded like I was whoring out my blog. Sweet, innocent blog, I would never do that to you.
The reason for the Japanese theme is that recently, we went to a New Year's Eve celebration with some friends. You'd know this if you read my blog. Yes, that was recent, because we don't get out much. Not because we don't want to, but because Getting Out takes a Lot of Effort. And there's always so much to do around here, not all of it chores (ignore what my children might say about this).
At this party, there was a guy making homemade sushi. Who does that? Well, apparently we do now. Brett ordered a Sushi-making kit, assembled from several purchases on Amazon.
Since I prefer to educate people in what seems to be a playful manner yet if you spend any time thinking about it (and I'm not suggesting you should), it connotes snobbishness. I learned that you can't call something "sushi" just because of the ingredients or how it looks. If you prefer, learn more here. It's quite possible that when you think you're eating sushi, you're really eating chirashizushi or narezushi.
How embarrassing for you.
The final kit of Brett's sushi making items arrived this morning. Apparently, he then had No Choice but to take all of the children except Susannah to the store. The reason for that is, Susannah is finishing up one of those poster tri-fold projects for school. Parents are "encouraged" to help. So that is what my day was spent doing, and I almost certainly do *not* resent it in the least.
Back to the sushi. Here's Isaiah cutting up a bell pepper. Yes that's a stuffed camel in the background. The explanation would only frustrate you so I shan't divulge.
Josh works on the carrots. I had to put on earmuffs.
Mercy helps with the peppers too. Just because you're missing a couple of limbs doesn't mean you shouldn't use sharp objects and risk losing more, I always say.
Abigail agrees.
Susannah wanted to try the wasabi--on a spoon, plain. I tried to caution her but she was quite sure she could handle it.
Then Gideon was coerced by his brothers to try it also. They convinced him it was "really good." Gideon ended up in tears and could only be comforted by a kinder egg. These are illegal in the U.S. and since we are good, law-abiding citizens, we order them from Canada.
These eggs are chocolate on the outside, with a cute toy on the inside. You never know what type of toy you will get. Today, Gideon got a bunch of puzzle pieces which needed to be assembled. His horse-loving sisters were quite envious.
But back to the sushi.
Nate took care of chopping up the avocado...
Judson handles the cukes quite well.
Now for the series of the Finishing of the Sushi:
The final product. It didn't last long.
Oh and the school project? Here's what we have so far. Susannah was assigned the country of Saudi Arabia. Each student received a different country. What's fun is, we did go on vacation to the United Arab Emirates a little over a year ago and that is next door to Saudi Arabia. So, we have a lot of things that we can use for the project. While in the UAE, I simply could not pass up the Barbie in a burqa. Who could? Her sign reads "Welcome to Saudi Arabia!" in both English and Arabic.
A lot still needs to be done but we'll get there. With the upcoming weather report, I'm guessing there won't be any school for at least the first two days of this week anyway, giving us more time to work on the project. They take snow days seriously here. I rec'd this via text from the National Weather Center:
"Issued at: 3:22 PM CST 1/29/11, expires at: 2:00 AM CST 1/30/11
Winter storm watch in effect from late Sunday night through late Tuesday night,
The NWS in Kansas city/pleasant hill has issued a winter storm watch for freezing drizzle, heavy snow and blowing snow, which is in effect from late Sunday night through late tuesday night.
Location, eastern Kansas and western Missouri, including the cities of st. Joseph, Kansas city, butler, clinton, and warrensburg.
Timing, light freezing drizzle or freezing rain will be possible early Monday morning through Monday night. Widespread snow will move into the area late Monday night and continue through Tuesday night. Snowfall will end by Wednesday morning.
Snow and ice accumulations, a light glaze of ice up to a tenth of an inch will be possible on Monday and Monday night. Snow accumulations between 6 and 10 inches may be possible through Wednesday morning.
Impacts, this long duration storm will arrive in multiple waves. Light freezing drizzle or freezing rain will lead to icy conditions on primary and secondary roads as early as the Monday morning commute. Once snow arrives Monday night, roads will rapidly become snow covered and travel will be difficult to extremely dangerous on Tuesday.
Other impacts, strong winds between 20 and 30 mph Tuesday afternoon will create significant blowing and drifting snow along with highly reduced visibilities into Tuesday night. Additionally, falling temperatures will also be likely Tuesday night producing wind chill temperatures well below zero by Wednesday morning.
Precautionary/preparedness actions,
A winter storm watch means there is a potential for significant snow, sleet, or ice accumulations that may impact travel. Continue to monitor the latest forecasts during this still developing winter storm.
Conditions can deteriorate rapidly in winter weather situations. Slow down and allow extra time when traveling. Practice your winter safety rules, keep a flashlight, food and water in your car in case of emergency."
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I prefer to "practice my winter safety rules" by simply staying indoors. But that's just me.
On a seemingly unrelated note, I have received the highest of compliments. Yes, even better than the Driveway Award. My blog has been complimented on Olive's Pearls.
Have a great weekend, all!