Birthday Dinner

US AT MY BIRTHDAY DINNER

(Yes, this post is nearly two months late) For my birthday we decided to try a Hilo establishment: Seaside Restaurant. Neither of us had ever eaten there before and it's a pretty popular place to go for locals and tourists. They raise some of their own fish (which makes it a shame that I really am not a seafood fan. I tried to look up what fish they raise, but their website has not be cooperative these last few days.

It's just outside the main stretch of Hilo (like airport side) and when you pull up it's nothing impressive. It's basically a house it looks like. When you walk inside the decor definitely hasn't been updated in awhile. On the way to the dining area you walk right by the service door to the kitchen (which has no door, so you can see right into the kitchen) and I thought that was weird. They seated us on an enclosed porch which was nice. The porch overlooks the tanks that they grow their fish in and a pond. As the sun set these beautiful white birds just took off across the pond and it was really pretty. As it got darker, the white Christmas lights gave the dining room a nice ambiance.

We got the escargot for an appetizer and then both got prime rib (my all-time favorite meal). The prime rib was...well prime rib. Nothing too special, but a decently tasty entree. The escargot on the other hand was a WHOLE 'nother story. They were just YUMMY.

ESCARGOT

Buttery, garlicy, cheesy and served with toasty crostini. Served with those cute little escargot forks, when it arrived it was like a little mystery because it was served hidden under a blanket of warm, gooey, stretchy cheese (don't ask me what kind...I'm so not a foodie). But in these little depressions (obviously an escargot serving dish) were the yummy snails, just swimming in their buttery deliciousness. Grab a snail, get some cheese and pop it on a crostini and it's a little piece of heaven. We are absolutely going back for the escargot!

I suppose it's probably ironic that I'm posting about eating snails after just posting about gross slugs...I didn't even realize this until I was about to post this :)

Super Slug

Probably not the most interesting of posts, but awhile ago I wrote about being a slug killer. The slugs out here on the Big Island are some of the biggest I've ever seen. Every now and then I'll step outside on my way to work and nearly squash one of these things. And if I don't see them than I see their silvery trails all over the place...even up the side of the house!

They actually move pretty fast. This slug actually was almost escaping into the little patch of grass between the door and the driveway in the time I stepped inside to get my camera. This really isn't a "Super Slug" but rather a regular sized slug. Obviously "Slug" would be a boring blog title..."Super Slug" just spices things up!

Here's some pictures of the slugs:

SLUG (EW)

SLUG + SLIPPER FOR SIZE COMPARISON

For Mom: Mongoose

Back in 2006 I had moved to Hawaii and my mother came to visit me. We visited the Big Island where I was asleep when the earthquake hit. The story of that experience has sparked one of my many anecdotes that result in me being mercilessly teased in the Wong family. I was asleep when the earthquake hit. I was woken up by a shaking that I first thought was my mother shaking the bed. This was odd in and off itself, but when I opened my eyes I saw that the room was violently shaking. Realizing it was an earthquake, I can clearly remember thinking: "I should spread out so that if I fall maybe the impact will be worse." I was thinking like I was some flying squirrel with webbing between my appendages which I alas I do not have. Once the rumbling was over I went downstairs and found my mother in the lobby. She asked if I had felt the earthquake and I said that I had been woken up by it. She wanted to leave and I asked if I could take a shower first. Now I get teased that there could've been a tsunami from the 6.7 earthquake but Kristen wanted to take a shower first. Har har...

Anyway, the real reason for this post is that I was introduced to my mother's bizarre fascination with mongoose. For the rest of our trip on the Big Island she was dashing away in full pursuit of a picture of a mongoose.

There's tons of mongoose where I live now and I see them all the time - crossing the road, in my backyard, as road kill. When my mother visited this past fall she didn't see one, but here's the big one that hangs out in my yard....pictures just for you mom!

Making a mess on the porch (my fault for temporarily leaving the garbage out there until Chris got home with the truck):

Kung Hee Fat Choy!

January 23, 2012 marked the start of Chinese New Year, the Year of the Dragon.

I love this local stamp company, Sister Stamps. Designed by sisters, they make adorable themed stamps with these Asian kids. Each of the stamps have names and a little story about how they got their names which makes the stamps a little more special it seems.

One of the recent releases was a Chinese New Year themed release. I had never really seen Chinese New Year stamps and while I am trying to hold myself back on the crafting stuff, I couldn't resist these. I bought the Lion Dancers and made some cute cards using Copics (amazing blending markers) and some cute Sizzix embossing folders.

Originally I was going to make these for my staff, but the amount it took to just one made me realize 1) it would take me FOREVER to make 45+ and 2) All the efforts it took to make one meant that they were extra special. Who else to make extra special cards for than my own family? I made four cards and rushed to get them out to my family in time for the New Year:

I made this card for my parents and it's my favorite because I love the play of the two embossed patterns and the colors just pop for me: