Anticipation

Anticipation is totally underrated.

I mean, it can be down-right frustrating sometimes. Like, tomorrow, when I go to the dentist, I'll dangle my legs over the end of the not-made-for-tall-white-girls dental chair and I'll wait...and wait.... Finding Nemo will probably be playing on the mini flatscreen and I'll flip mindlessly through a some-random-week 2009 US Weekly that's been camping out in the dental room for entirely too long. And you guessed it, I'll anticipate... it won't be the good kind of anticipation either. Seriously, my teeth have been a train wreck since pregnancy.

But, and there's always a but, anticipation is joyful more often than it's unnerving. Here's a mini-list of  fun things I anticipate:

• Christmas morning cinnamon rolls
• Coffee...every morning. Literally--I go to bed excited to wake up and drink coffee!
• The next perfect wave
• Blakely's chubby arms reaching towards me
• Song #4 on Amy Grant's Tender Tennessee Christmas album

Soooo....I must say that I'm in love with watching Blakely anticipate. She really only anticipates the happy moments right now. She still hasn't figured out that rolling off the bed could potentially be painful (I've managed to catch her thus far ;)).

Here, let me show you what I mean. Tim was teasing her with water squirts from her rubber ducky while she took her bath. If you watch closely, you'll see her gleeful anticipation! Who knew being splashed in the face could be so fun?!

Bikes & Food & Ohana

We have families--plural. Yes, we are richly blessed! Not only do we have our beloved parents, siblings, niece, nephew, and friends back home. But, we also have a completely divinely appointed ohana on Oahu. Come on, check 'em out! We just had our second annual holiday bike parade/progressive dinner. I have some pics to share...mostly of food ;). For more on the festive people, lemme know. I have more pics elsewhere! xoxo

Appetizers at our hale! Flank steak roll-ups (with cheese, sundried tomatoes, and spinach), naan with berries & honey, and Scott's fresh sashimi.



The winning bike/team! Go Auburn!
p.s. This is my dear friend/incredible photographer. Check her out at Blue Nalu Photography.



The Thanksgiving Day Crew <3

To dinner, we go!

Next stop, Rose's.



Turkey & Ham at the Rose Residence!




Our favorite Southern friends made the most delicious Thanksgiving sides possible! Nick hand-whipped the mashed potatoes and Kris made his specialty: baked mac & cheese. Yum!



Three's Company! xoxo

Yakiniku

Yaki--what?! I know, that's what I first thought!

This past weekend, Tim and I were on the search for Shabu-shabu for our anniversary dinner. We weren't really sure what Shabu-shabu was or what it entailed, but it sounded awfully swanky...the way it rolled off our tongues. So, I told Tim, let's have Shabu-shabu. How romantic! ;)

Pause: Just so you know...Wikipedia says this about Shabu-shabu:

The dish is prepared by submerging a very thin slice of meat or a piece of vegetable in a pot of boiling water or dashi (broth) made with kombu (kelp) and swishing it back and forth several times. The familiar swishing sound is where the dish gets its name. Shabu-shabu directly translates to "swish-swish". Cooked meat and vegetables are usually dipped in ponzu or "goma" (sesame seed) sauce before eating, and served with a bowl of steamed white rice. Once the meat and vegetables have been eaten, leftover broth from the pot is customarily combined with the remaining rice, and the resulting soup is usually eaten last.

Shabu-shabu: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yakiniku



As some of my closest friends may remember, I love anything I can mix around and eat out of a bowl! ha! So...yes, Shabu-shabu looks perfect. Maybe not so-swanky and maybe not so-romantic, but still...perfect!

Anyway, we didn't know what it was or where it was. Tim did find Blakely wonderful care for the evening (thanks Zeke, Abby, and Levi) and he made us a reservation...for Shabu-shabu....at Gyu Kaku in Town.

We excitedly hit Lewers Street and bustled past Ruth Chris', Cheeseburger in Paradise, The Yardhouse, a few bumpin' surf shops, some classy art galleries...and then...nothin'. We looked up and down and didn't see our Shabu-shabu retaurant. Finally, just past the crazy animation of Lewers, we saw a subdued little Japanese restaurant: Gyu Kaku. We made it!

Upon being sat, I anxiously blurted out: Is this Shabu-shabu?! Our waiter gave me a part-patronizing, part-endearing look and whispered incredulously, why no, this is Yakiniku. Again, I stress, I'm like, Yaki-what?!

Pause: Here's Wikipedia's response for Yakiniku:

In a yakiniku restaurant, diners order several types of prepared raw ingredients (either individually or as a set) which are brought to the table. The ingredients are cooked by the diners on a grill built into the table throughout the duration of the meal, several pieces at a time. The ingredients are then dipped in sauces known as tare before being eaten. The most common sauce is made of Japanese soy sauce mixed with sake, mirin, sugar, garlic, fruit juice and sesame.[2] Garlic-and-shallot or miso-based dips are sometimes used.

Yakiniku: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yakiniku

So although we did not find Shabu-shabu last weekend, we did discover the delight of grilling at our table! It's kind of like fondue, but with an open fire (well, not like flames...more like smoke). Good thing Blakely was crawling all over Abby's place and not sticking her fingers on our porta-grill. :)

I definitely reccomend Yakiniku and Gyu Kaku. It was sort of a mishap that we stumbled upon this treasure. I'm sure I sound totally uncultured as I write this. Maybe the majority of you are like, totally, Yakiniku, we eat it like every-other-day... But, what can I say? It was a learning experience for us and quite a fun one!

Now I just need to find Shabu-shabu! Okay...here are some of my pictures: