Sunday, May 3, 2009

Tornados Usher in Eric's B-day!

How's that for a dramatic title? Okay so it might be a little deceptive. We did have a tornado warning on Eric's b-day, but it was only for about 30 minutes.
Back to Eric. He's an old man now. All of 26. yup. We didn't really go all out for celebrating on his special day because he had study catch-up to do (he went hunting turkeys last week and needed to put in a pretty full day to make up for it... it was worth it! He came home so happy and ready to hit the grindstone... well, more or less. That doesn't mean he's excited about it.) So, our celebrations were small but lasted all weekend!

I surprised him with Japanese sushi for dinner. My first time to make it (Korean style is different with no 'scary' ingredients), so I wasn't brave enough to go raw fish. I did walk over to the Tensuke Market with Anita, Charlotte, and Gwen on our walk to snag some fish eggs (a delightful bright orange!), some BBQ eel (disappointingly bland), pickled plums (which actually turned out to be apricots and were INTENSELY flavorful-- a lil goes a long way!), and packets of wasabi (wonderfully pungent) to enjoy in our sushi. My favorite ingredients were definitely the avocado, the fish eggs, the fake crab, and a surprisingly exciting mango/wasabi combo!

Of course, those 30 tornado minutes would coincide perfectly with Gwen's bathtime on her way to bed... and we didn't want her to get too off kilter... so here she is, enjoying Daddy's b-day in the only safe room in our apartment: the small downstairs bathroom. She sort of liked her bath in the ice chest! :) How often do you get to "play" with your baby in an ice chest full of water on your birthday?

We gave Eric a hair cut. This pic with Gwen is as close to a "before" shot as we dared get. It was getting pretty, um, interesting. Now he says it is the shortest it has been in our marriage. But it'll be nice to not have to touch it up again until after the Boards! See the top photo for the "after" shot!

And perhaps my favorite part of the extended b-day celebrations was the dessert. It took several days before we actually had time to make it, but it was worth it! And I was actually pleasantly surprised at how quickly and easily everything came together! Asian-style Banana fritters with a lime-caramel sauce... most certainly on the 'no-no' list for me, but an indulgence I absolutely couldn't resist!

I love you Hon, you are the best! No really... I cannot imagine the dismal life I would have without you. You bring me so much joy. I am grateful for eternal families because that means I always have YOU to look forward to forever!

7 comments:

  1. That food sounds all yummy! I LOVE sushi (but am not brave enough to make it myself...kudos to you!) Oh, and that dessert! I am having a definite banana craving right now! :)

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  2. That is quite the birthday weekend! Your sushi looks beautiful. I almost want to try it even though I do not like sushi. I'm glad the tornado warning was just a warning. The ice chest bath looks pretty fun. Gwen certainly seems to be enjoying it. I am so impressed with your haircut too. Ian doesn't let me cut his hair. :) Perhaps I will have the courage to start doing my kids' hair soon. Weston can sit pretty still now, so perhaps he's ready to let me cut his hair. I am just scared I'll make him look all weird. In any case, good job.

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  3. Happy Birthday Eric! Elisa, you totally will have to teach me to cook. That all looks so good!

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  4. Happy Birthday! The photo of Gwen is the cutest!

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  5. your sushi looks amazing! You need to teach a class on it - I would be the first to sign up.

    My other question is how did I miss the tornado warning?? :) Typical.

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  6. I certainly don't hope for a tornado to actually hit us, but I do think it would be so cool to actually see one. I get so excited when the sirens go off! Not smart - I know.
    You are an amazing wife - I bet Eric loved his birthday! I'm not good enough to get everything in to one day, so we have to celebrate birthday weeks. But tell Eric that we wish him a happy birthday and hope that his studying is going well!!!

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  7. Those tornados were fun, huh? My kids and I were in the basement too, but we didn't get the fun of an ice chest bath! ha ha - what a good idea! The food looks super good - I'm impressed!! Those banana thingies look absolutely amazing!

    I did end up posting a video of Savanna's crawl - if you're interested! So fun!

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