Furikake

So growing up we ate furikake all the time! Except that we called it sprinkles. There is truly nothing better on rice! I add butter then sprinkle my sprinkles all over my hot rice! Yum! What is furikake you ask? Let me list some of the ingredients - dried shaved bonito, sesame seed, sugar, salt, and soy sauce are just a few of the main ingredients. So as Darren says - "Furikake is to rice what Hot Fudge is to an ice cream sundae." Well said Darren, Well said!

Pa's 80th & the photobooth

Gosh how long has it been? I know, I know, much too long! I can't say that I've been too busy, because that's just a cop out! However, my sister and I did plan our dad's 80th birthday party. Which turned out to be a lot of fun! The weather was fabulous and anyone who knows how the coast can be knows that that alone is a godsend! 80+ degrees and we were able to eat outside! We had luau food and good friends. A few mai tai's too! I set up a little photo studio in my sisters dining room, I got the idea from this great website I came across called jamesmoes.com. Check his work out. It's awesome! Anyway here are a few from my attempt.

Tour de Cure

So I decided to join the work team and ride to raise money for The American Diabetes Association. This is a big step for me. I've been putting off getting off my butt for way too long. I figured what a good way to motivate me while raising money for a great cause. We all know someone who has diabetes or has someone close to them that has diabetes, so here I go. The first step, the commitment. Done - I can check that one off the list.

Now I just need to find a bike to ride! LOL

Wish me luck and if you want to donate to the cause - check out the website http://main.diabetes.org, click on the Tour de Cure link and then the donate link, put in my name - Rae Yamane and do what you can.

Thanks!

Some times you just get what you deserve

So I have a little story to tell. A co-worker of mine has a niece who is going to school in NYC and a neighbor of hers asked her if she could take care of their dog while they went on a short vacation. She agreed. Okay now what's the worst thing that could happen when you are taking care of someones pet? She went over to feed the dog and yes, that's right, he was dead. She had to call them and let them know, apparently the dog was quiet old and the owners were not as surprised as she was. The main problem was that the dog could not be left there till the owners got back in 4 days. So they asked her to call their vet and see if they could help out with this problem. The vet said they could take the dog. Second problem, she now had to get the dog to the vets office. So she wrapped the dog up in a plastic bag and put him in a rolling suitcase. Being a starving student she had no $ for a cab, so she took the subway. A guy seeing her struggling with the suitcase offered to help her. He commented on how heavy it was and asked what was in it. She being embarrassed to tell him the truth told him it was school books and a computer. Guess what he did? Yes!!!! He ran off with the suitcase! He stole it from her! I just laughed my ass off thinking of him opening the suitcase and seeing or maybe even smelling the contents!! Did he get what he deserved? I say HELL YES!

Canning

Recently my sister and I made peach jam. It was so easy. What I really liked about it was that we did a project together. It's really great to do that.
So this past weekend I decided to make pickled beets. My friends grow a gorgeous garden and they offered beets to me. I made pickled beets a few months ago, but don't know how they turned out yet. I really need to try a jar. Especially since I did the same receipt again. What if the first batch was yucky? I also had a bit more of the pickling juice left so I added some peppercorns & fresh dill and pickled some carrots from my garden. We'll see.

The last sighting of Owlie

I'm missing Owlie! He had so many more places to see. In this scene we re-enacted an event that happened to my husband. Many years ago when his sister Monica was little, he took her to the animal park in San Diego. She saw a churro stand and wanted one, so Mike being the good brother that he is went to buy her one. No sooner does he pay for it and it's handed to him then Bam! A seagull swoops out of the sky and steals it right out of his hand. He didn't even know what happened, stunned, he pulls out his wallet and buys another one. Bam! Within seconds, Gone! Needless to say Monica did not get her churro that day. So in honor of Mike and his encounter with the seagulls we took this picture! I still laugh when ever I think of what must have been the stunned look on his face and the Churro vendors obvious smile as he sells him another one.

Weird weather

The other day the weather was very strange. The air smelled like hot pavement after it rains.

The sunset at the end was amazing.

It sure was gorgeous! I just kept staring up. It was such a nice change from our overcast 60 degree weather we had been having the past few days.