Maybe you're not a hypochondriac . . .

I haven't posted on my blog in almost a year, and I'm STILL too lazy to do anything more than this. It really made me laugh, though.

In the Spirit of Thanksgiving

What are YOU thankful for?

Sushi Anyone?

I guess I've decided to come out of the blogging hole I've been hiding in for the last few months (was it really March when I last posted??) now that we've moved far, far away and I can't just tell people about the awesome thing I did tonight. You know, at least not in person.

Tonight, my friends, I made sushi for the first time! I know. Is that not seriously so cool? Ellis and I love sushi, but we rarely get to go out to eat it. So I thought, hey, how hard could it be? I got myself some toasted seaweed, a rolling mat, and some sashimi grade tuna and went to town.

For the adults, we have your classic Philly rolls, and my version of the so yummy "Jenny roll" that I had at Tsunami a while ago with (who else?) Jenni. My version is, of course, called the "Jenni Roll."


I made a tamer roll for the kids with cooked crab. I cut them smaller, too, so they'd be able to manage them better, and the rolls got a little smushed in the process. The presentation is lacking here, I know, but the kids had fun messing around with the chopsticks.

Ellis enjoys his rolls with wasabi and soy sauce.

I like mine 'al natural,' the way they were intended.

And the girls mostly liked the fortune cookies. I know, I know . . . fortune cookies don't really fit the Japanese theme, but let's be honest, the girls aren't exactly sushi aficionados.

Yes, attempts were made to eat the fortune cookies with chopsticks.

FYI: In my quest for sushi-making knowledge, I discovered that sushi is not meant to be eaten with chopsticks but is supposed to be eaten with your hands. (Jen, you don't need to master the chopsticks after all!)

Crime and Punishment

The other day, the kids were playing outside on the swing set (you know, before the March blizzard of '09), and Ellis saw Marley pushing Lucy down while they were up on the slide. In what I think was a stroke of disciplining genius, Ellis made Marley have a timeout that involved writing down all the reasons why pushing her little sister off the slide was a bad idea. Here's what she came up with:

1. Bekus Lucy will haf too go too the Hosobl.

2. Bekus Lucy will hav a brokin lag.

3. Bekus Lucy will be hrt.

4. Bekus Lucy will kri.

5. Bekus she will be sad.

She had written each reason on a separate little sheet of paper, and then she stapled (and taped) them all together in a small booklet for our reading pleasure.

Which Girl Scout Cookie are You?

You Are Peanut Butter Sandwiches / Do-si-dos

You are easy going and naturally happy. You don't need a lot to make you smile. You genuinely care about people and are a great friend. You're always doing your best to make the world a better place. Even though there isn't an immature bone in your body, you still are like a big kid sometimes. Why make life complicated when the best parts are actually quite simple? You enjoy the small joys of life.

What Girl Scout Cookie Are You?

Hmmm. . . I'm not sure I like being associated with a cookie called the "Do-Si-Do." I swear, I never clogged when I was younger . . . . At least not professionally.

Land of the Cheese, Home of the Packers

Okay, so as many of you may have heard by now, it is official: we are moving to the great state of Wisconsin! Yes, I know . . . there were rumors flying around for a while about us moving to Mississippi. And yes, those rumors were started by me. But as it turns out, Ellis is a highly sought-after man, and what can we say? We liked Wisconsin a lot better. But hey, we'll be next to the Mississippi River, so I like to think it all evens out.

And even though we won't be moving until the end of the summer, I've been accumulating a lot of really valuable information about our future state. Friends and family have been extremely helpful in sharing their wealth of knowledge, and now here's what I've got so far:

1. Great cheese. Now Dana may mock, but there are few things I love more than squeaky cheese (and yes, those who know me well . . . or just read my blog . . . will know that chocolate is one of those things). So I can't complain about this one.
2. Cold winters. This one doesn't bother me too much either. The real problem is when you have hot, humid summers, and nobody wants to go outside. Like I need a house full of kids all summer long.
3. Green Bay Packers. I plead ignorance on all things football-related. (They are a football team, right?)
4. Highly ranked public schools. Good, good. I don't want dumb kids.
5. Beautiful area. Well, I have to live there, so this one's definitely a plus.
6. Big ol' river. The city we'll be living in borders the river, so that could be pretty cool. Ellis is excited because there are all sorts of outdoor-related activities we can do there. This could be good and bad. I'll let you know.
7. Low cost of living. Bonus! Houses are really cheap there, and as we all know, it's a good time to buy. We'll invite you all for the house-warming . . .

Well, that's about all I've got right now. Feel free to chime in if you know any other bits of Wisconsin trivia. I've clearly got the important stuff down, but I do like to be prepared. I guess I'll hold onto my parka and snow boots.

All Chocolate is Not Created Equal

So here's something interesting I've discovered (in addition to the fact that about half of my posts seem to be dedicated to chocolate): Hershey's Milk Chocolate Chips just aren't as good as almost any other generic brand of chocolate chips. And frankly, neither are Ghirardelli chocolate chips. And aren't they supposed to be the better brands?

It's kind of weird, I think, that Hershey's brand tastes more like semi-sweet than milk chocolate. I'm not exactly a chocolate snob, but I do much prefer milk chocolate to semi-sweet when it comes to the chocolate chips in my cookies. And I want them to taste like milk chocolate, too. Is that so much to ask?

Probably the best ones out there are Macey's brand milk chocolate chips. Those are sooo tasty.

So what's up with Hershey's, huh? If I buy milk chocolate, I want milk chocolate! Of course, it didn't exactly stop me from finishing off the last of this bag of chocolate chips . . .