Green kamaboko salad

This is one of my favorite salads--Somen salad, but I have NEVER, EVER had to make it with GREEN kamaboko. What is kamaboko you might ask... Well it is a compressed fish cake sort of thing that doesn't really taste fishy, but tastes good in this salad. It is normally hot pink, which looks really good mixed in with all of the greens, but I do have to admit, the hot pink is equally as unnatural as the green. So what am I getting all freaked out about?

My best buds

Here is Bonnie with Jacob. She is now living far away, and can't see the little guy as much as we both would like. Unfortunately, her children were down with the great flu of 08, and were unable to come with her. So, we'll have to get them in the picture next time.

Our little man

Jacob is growing and developing more and more each day. He loves to read and play with toys. He also has some pretty funny expressions. Here is the classic poop face.

Made for a new baby

I've been busy sewing bibs for new babies. Girl bibs are easier than boy bibs as most of my fabric has flowers of some sort on them. The bibs come from this book: Bend the Rules Sewing. It is a fun book with pretty easy projects, but the downer is that the patterns are not included. They are, but you have to blow them up and copy them yourself.

Jacob's favorite toy

I found this old toy at an antique/thrift store around the corner from our house. It has the greatest stuff, and one of the sections is a children's section. I don't know who made this toy or where it came from, but it was made for a baby Jacob's age. The little "mushroom flowers" wiggle and he can grab them and bite them, there is a bell that tinkles when it moves, and there is a rope so he can pull it once he starts becoming mobile.

Amendment: This is now Jacob's EX-favorite toy :(
Nate washed it and the paint is peeling. I can't quite bring myself to throw it away, but Jacob definitely can't come near it anymore. So sad. He really loved it.

The Hills behind us

I love the fact that there are hills rising up behind our city. In LA county, there are so many cities upon cities that nature is hard to come by. However, we have these hills within walking distance from our house. Ironically, the reason we have them is because they used to belong to an oil company which owned most of these hills. They drilled for oil here in the 20s and 30s, but that meant the land was not developed for houses. Then the city was able to buy the land when the oil was no longer being drilled here. As a result, we have these wonderful trails to hike and bike. This year they are especially beautiful thanks to all of the rain.

Vintage Golden Books

On a happier note, I found these at the same book sale all pretty much unmarked in great condition for 25 cents each. I'm going to be busy reading to Jacob. I'd better stop collecting.