Bento - Round 2

I got slightly more creative (a trip to the Asian Market with my sister meant new snacks) for my second round of bento-making. I am very excited today because a few sets that I ordered from Japan just arrived and I can't wait to start using them. I now have lots of super cute accessories!

Life of Birds

This is a really good documentary. I am watching the last disc on Netflix right now and I like it alot!

First Bento

I had fun making my first bento this morning. I am still learning, but I think it turned out pretty well. Sean and I basically had the same lunch today, so that made it a bit easier. I am glad I picked up the mini cookie cutters at Meijer since I was able to make cute designs on our Babybel cheese. I am off to prep tomorrow's bentos. More pics to follow...

Weims

I haven't posted a pic of Norm here in a while, so here you go...

It Happened Again

I have gone forever without a new post. I think I will make this post about all of my new obsessions.

Here they are in no special order:
Bento - the Japanese art of lunch packing
Tiki - the drinks, the mugs, the leis - everything!
Gilmore Girls - more of a guilty pleasure, really

The bento thing is the most recent (within the last week). I have been reading this really cool blog about it and am going to begin packing them tomorrow.

The tiki thing has been a long time in the making. I went to this fantastic Polynesian restaurant (Kahiki) as a kid and it was love at first site. I have quite a collection of tiki mugs now and have become quite the mixologist. You can view my mug collection here.

The Gilmore Girls thing is pretty new too and I can't quite explain it. A few people have been espousing the merits, so I thought I would give it a try. It turns out that the show is pretty good, especially considering that the show has now ended and I can watch the episodes back to back with no commercials through Netflix. Horray for Netflix!

It is time for bed now, but I am intending to keep up better with this blog in the future.

Good night!

Welcome Back

What is it that makes one person ignore something, while another person cannot think of anything else? Is it priorities? Is it tolerance?

Example: I see a plant that visibly needs water and I can think of nothing else at that moment. I stop what I am doing and water the plant. Maybe what makes me feel an overwhelming urge to water the plant is the same thing that makes someone else able to walk away. Conscience? Maybe not...

Are we there yet?

The holidays are approaching fast and I feel like I haven't really savored it. That is strange to think about because the season begins so early now. I don't remember hearing Christmas music before Thanksgiving when I was growing up.

This time of year always brings constant thoughts of my mom. I think of how much she liked to get out all the Christmas decorations and listen to her Luther Vandross Christmas CD. I have been struggling with her loss this year more than ever before. Around Thanksgiving, I started to wonder why I feel a compulsion to maintain my mother's traditions. Why do I feel like I need to make a huge meal with all of the same dishes she always made and with all the fancy serving dishes, teacups, and heirloom tablecloths? Wouldn't it just be easier to have simpler food done up ahead and have people eat from disposable plates and utensils to cut down on the amount of preparation and clean-up I have to do? The answer, of course, it yes, but would that make me as happy. I thought about all of this for the first time this year. In the past I just did what she always did because I thought that was the thing to do. I realize now that I need to make a decision about my life. I love my mother and I miss her everyday, but I have to live my life - not hers. I do want to do things in my life that I know would make her proud, but not at the cost of my own happiness. I am going to try to strike a better balance between what she would have done and what is right for me. I can't live in the shadow of her memory for the rest of my life, and I have discovered that she wouldn't have wanted that.