Take more than one bite at One Bite

I had dinner on Tuesday at "One Bite Japanese Grill" in Overland Park. It's a relatively new restaurant that features Japanese tapas. I love trying new restaurants and I love the concept of tapas. This resturant did not disappoint!! I'm not very familiar with Japanese food but this stuff was GOOD!! We tried several different things: chicken dumplings, cheese and pork dumplings, skewers of grilled chicken topped with cheese served over a bed of "eatable" sticks (I really have no idea what the "sticks" actually were), fried tofu with a creamy dipping sauce, and a Japanese style pizza with mushrooms. I've never had tofu before, and it was the only thing I didn't really like. I had a hard time with the texture of it. I gobbled up everything else! The dumplings were my favorite thing. Man, they were tasty! I'm still smiling as I think back on them. YUMMY!! I definitely recommend this place. Oh, and all that food was only $13 when split between 3 people. Not bad!

Icey Fountain

As I was driving home from an outing to the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art last weekend, a friend and I noticed that the JC Nichols fountain on the Plaza was active but partially frozen over. It was really cool!! I carry my camera in my purse (it's come in handy many times), so we stopped and took some pictures. I currently have three photos hanging on one of the walls in my dining room. They are store bought photos, that I have no particular attachment to. I was thinking about taking them down and putting these up instead.

Little Things About Me

I've decided to share a few little things about me that you may or may not know. This type of post may reoccur periodically here.

• I *love* hot coffee, but I don't like cold coffee (iced or ice cream). I was once horribly sick the day after eating coffee ice cream and to this day, even the smell of cold coffee makes me slightly nauseous. I only mention this because it came up in conversation at work today in relation to the new iced coffee available at McDonald's. I will definitely not be trying it.
• My favorite religiously-symbolic church service of the year is the Tenebrae service. It's usually either on Maundy Thursday or Good Friday. Tenebrae means "darkness" or "shadows" in Latin. It's usually a retelling of Christ's betrayal and crucifixion, through several readings, with candles snuffed out and lights dimmed after each reading. The service tradionally ends in silence and darkness. It's always meaningful to me. The stillness, and solemness, and aloneness that I feel while sitting in a dark church gives me a small glimpse in to what the world would be like without Christ. I'm glad I know that the story continues with His triumph over death on Easter Sunday.
• I love turning to a new month on the calendar. There's just something about the anticipation of looking at the next picture/illustration that I love. It makes me smile each month.

Creative Ideas?

This crock is the new Red Wing antique I bought recently. It's sitting in the corner formed by my living room wall and my TV cupboard. Notice the ugly messy cords hanging out the back of the cupboard? I sure wish someone would invent wireless TVs, DVD players, DVRs, etc. Until that happens, I would like to put something in this crock that is wide enough and tall enough to hide the cords. A plant would work, but I've had plants before in this spot and they tend to die. I'd like to blame it on the lack on sunlight that this corner gets, but in an effort at full disclosure, I should probably take some of the blame on myself. A fake plant is an option, but I've had a fake plant in this spot and it tends to look, well, fake. So, most of you out there are a heck of a lot more creative than I am. If you ever need something organized in to a spreadsheet, give me a call. Creative ideas, however, aren't really my strong suit. So, I'd love any suggestions for what to put in this crock that would look great and hide the mess of cords.