my baby is good at making sushi. here's Leslie, the hostess and my co-worker, giving some tips to the hot man behind the mat. and ta-dah! chow time.

the process goes something like this. put your little sushi mat down, put the seaweed square on that. put a row of rice and whatever else you want near edge of seaweed closest to you. then roll as tight as you can. seal seaweed edge with a dab of water. cut on cutting board, wet knife with water if it sticks. quite simple, eh? Leslie laid out a load of choices: shrimp, raw tuna and salmon and eel, avacado, cucumber. and to make the rice sticky and tasty you add rice vinegar to it!

the resident Asians show us how it's done. although the 3 Asians present were not Japanese...they really had a knack for it! something to do with just knowing all the ins and outs of rice, i guess.

Haven in the flesh

I couldn't help myself from kifing these from Heather's blog and posting them on my own. I will be seeing this baby in the flesh in less than 24 hours and I'm nearly jumping out of my seat just thinking about it. Haven is 6 weeks old, my third niece/nephew and -- dare I say -- the cutest one yet. Ok, they're all cute. But man. You're going to have to pry this one from my clenched hands in 3 days when I have to turn around and come back. Here comes Aunt Martha! Heather, don't you think you should put some clothes on her? Logan's pretty cold this time of year. Look at those all-seeing eyes. And that electrically shocking hair. She has definitely fattened up since the stork dropped her off, too. She's come a long way since her wrinkly, squished up days. Stay tuned for more adorable pics of this one when I get back.

more ham, please

it is our 2nd to last ham meal. i don't want it to end.

furniture finale

on v-day, adam romanced me with these nightstands. they are our last and final furniture purchase until we move into a bigger place.

i keep mistaking him for a military man. hi honey, uh, when did you join the, uh, marines?

honey baked, honey baked, honey baked ham

thanks to Mark for the delicious honeybakedham! he got us a gift certificate for xmas and we finally picked up the beaut. and we have been enjoying her for a solid week. this was our first feast, last sunday. during the week i used her for a quiche, split pea soup and above is adam (sporting his new haircut and apron my mom made him) whipping up some potatoes for yet another meal of hhhhhhham. thanks Mark! it has been delish.

Heather sent me the below pics of our Denver reception. They are the first pics I had seen from the event so if anyone has more to share...send them over. We had a bit of silliness with the bouquet -- we small towners find entertainment in small things. A few highlights: Roger's asthmatic reaction, Owen's Fire Marshall Bill "Lemme showya somethin'" -- his next accidental move being to stick them over the flame of the outdoor BBQ. Mark imagining himself in a wrestling ring with the bouquet...his face doesn't show it, but you know that's what he's thinking. Devoted sisters. Karie Ann, jealous sister-in-law, trying to subtly steal the flowers so she can relive her happy day. And Adam and me in alternating moods.

Let's Reminisce!

Time Waster

I discovered this blog yesterday and found it wildly entertaining. Makes me want to move to the country. Check it out if you've got some time to burn. www.thepioneerwoman.com.

Hollywood here we come

the Warners and Wares take on Hollywood! you can barely see the sign on the hill, it's harder to take a picture of than i thought. My cousin Carrie and her husband Nick came for a visit and we hit up the big time.