Faux Sushi

 Yesterday, I attended a surprise party for a good friend of mine at Old Chicago's.  It was a good time, despite my stomach twisting and turning most of the day (and into last night). 

Anyway, Scott and I saw this neat idea to use rice krispy treats and various candies to make sushi.  He told me that we should totally do this for our friend.

Thursday, after the kids went to bed, I got to work.  I sent Scott on a last minute errand to Walmart for some extra supplies.

I found several examples and a video tutorial online on how to make sushi rolls.
Here were my supplies:

• Rice Krispy cereal
• Marshmallows
• Butter
• Fruit by the Foot - most Fruit by the Foot come in varying colors, but I couldn't find green.  But King Soopers (Kroger) had a generic version of fruit by the foot that was "alien" themed, so not only was it green, but it had these white specks (see pictures below)
• Swedish Fish - for the nigiri
• Starburts (pinks & orange) - flattened for the nigiri and put into a few rolles
• Twizzlers (red) - inserted into the rolls
• Gummy worms (green & yellow or green & white) - inserted into the rolls
• Orange Slices - rolled flat and shaped to look like ginger
• Optional: Green Maraschino Cherries or green Starbursts (for wasabi)

Tips & Tricks:

• Make Rice Krispies as directed, except throw in some extra marshmallows to make them more malleable.  
• When making the rolls, make sure the flattened rice krispy sheet is still somewhat warm.  
• It will be sticky!

How-to videos:
http://video.about.com/candy/How-to-Make-Candy-Sushi.htm
http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/mock-sushi-687463/


Here are the finished results:

Who the heck am I?

I guess an introduction is in order.  If you're reading this and you've come through Facebook, chances are you already know something about me.  Either from high school, through work, or past and current friendships.  But if you've wandered through cyberspace and somehow landed here, this would be the post for you.

You can call me Mary (most people call me that), Miean (mostly family and some really close friends), or a myriad of other names: MJ, Mary Jane, "hey you", etc. Or you don't even have to call me anything. It won't hurt my feelings.

Who am I?

I am a daughter (with the best dad in the whole world!)

I am a sister (to a stubborn, yet wonderful brother and a cute as a button baby sister)

My sister

My brother

I am a wife (we tied the knot this last summer, but we've been together for over 7 years)

My awesome husband

I am a mother (to a rambunctious pair of kiddos)

My son, Tristan, on his first day of Kindergarten

My daughter, Melayna, having tons of fun at America the Beautiful park

I am a step-mother (to two beautiful young ladies)

I am a speaker (I am VP of PR for TOPCLASS, a Toastmasters club in Colorado Springs)

I am a biker (although, I didn't ride at all this past summer!)

I am a gamer
<Insert Picture Here>
I guess I don't have many pics of me gaming, but I like board games, video games, computer games, and more. 

I am an artist (I enjoy expressing myself through various medium)

Photography

Sunset silhouette - Summer 2009

Red Rocks Canyon - Fall 2010

Air Show - Fall 2011

USAFA vs BYU - Fall 2010

 

Cupcakes

Schnauzer cupcakes

Pug cupcakes

Lab cupcakes

Butterfly cupcakes

 Cakes

Super Bowl Cake

Wedding cake trial

Birthday Cake

 Drawings/Designs

Render of puppy on drawing tablet

Banner Drawing for Light the Night Walk

Patch design created for our gaming group

I am also a student (on break for the moment)
And, I am an assistant lending administrator (a busy, but awesome job)

Alright, so now you know a little something about me (hey, "Something About Mary" - dang I should have made my website that name - though it is probably already taken - btw I've actually never seen the movie).


I live in beautiful Colorado Springs with my family.  All of my immediate family, except for my baby sister, live here, too.  Our family is little, but close.  I work for a large credit union and I love the company I work for.  That's why I've been there for nearly nine years.  My husband, prior military, has done a few different odd jobs before landing the best job of all: stay-at-home dad.  We couldn't afford the daycare for two kids, especially since his pay covered daycare and one car payment.  It didn't make sense.  Sell the car and stay at home.  Living on primarily one income is tough, but we've managed thus far.

Anyway, I am fairly diverse in the things I find enjoyable in life and the things I like to do.  I am usually willing to give new things a fair chance, whether it is food, guns, or games.   I like to express my creativity through a variety of things, such as baking, photography, and drawing.

I hope that as I write this blog, you can learn a little bit about me and the things that interest me most.

What is Hooperpalooza?

My husband and I have been together for over seven years.  We have two beautiful children together, ages 5 and 3.  However, we tied the knot just this last summer.

Picture taken by AMH Photography

Why, you ask?  Let's just say it's complicated.  And let's just say, it really doesn't matter.

One thing that he and I have in common is gaming.  We are both gamers.  We met while working at a game store.  I'm not talking about a video game store, like Game Stop.  I'm talking about a small, locally owned game store with Dungeons & Dragons, Magic the Gathering, Warhammer, and the like.  I am talking true, real, social gaming.  I am also referring to the "geeky" style of gaming that most people may think of.  I worked part time at this small game store and Scott worked as a manager for the second location in town.  That is how we met.

Our gaming has evolved and changed so much over the years.  Between the two of us, our experience of various games is vast.  Together, we dabbled in Warhammer 40K and Warhammer.  We've played GURPS, D&D (3.5 edition mostly), Aeon Trinity, and Rifts.  I have played CCG's (collectible card games) such as Magic the Gathering, dotHack, Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings, Legend of Five Rings, and more.  To round out our gaming experience, we play in the virtual world on the computer and various consoles. And finally, we are part of a gaming group that focuses on board games.  Not your run of the mill board games like Monopoly.  I'm talking about Small World, Carcasonne, Pastiche, Ubongo, and so on.  We even have a small collection started, which includes children's board games like Knuckling Knights.

Plainly said, we are gamers.

So, what does all this have to do with Hooperpalooza?

Well, being that a majority of our wedding guests are part of our gaming group, we appropriately came up with a "gaming" name for our wedding event.  One of our friends hosts WesCon.  His name is Wes and the event is all about gaming and hanging out with our gaming friends.

We couldn't really have a HooperCon, now could we?  That just doesn't sound right. 

So, we coined the term Hooperpalooza!

When I started this blog, I needed a name for it.  I could have stuck with my old blog and went with "Butterfly Kisses and Elephant Parades"  I loved that name.  But the elephant phase is long past and we now have to worry about superheroes.  And while butterfly kisses is such a cute name, considering the song, my daughter is such a rough and tumble little girl.  She is into Dora and puppies.  And she is quite the dare devil.  Butterfly kisses really doesn't do her justice.  Also, the name excludes two very important little ladies who came into our lives recently.  Scott's daughters from his prior marriage were living in another state with their mother.  He had no idea where they were and how they were doing.  Only in the last two years did we find out where they were.  And it was just this last summer that we got to have them here for the first time.  What a joy it was to have them here.  Now that they are back home, we miss them dearly.

Anyway, I digress.  The name Hooperpalooza I think does the trick.  It covers all of us.  It is a statement of who we are.  That life is a thing to celebrate.  And to celebrate it with those closest to us, that is our purpose.

To Hooperpalooza!  One big celebration for one small family!

A toddler no more....

This past weekend we celebrated my youngest child's third birthday.  What a fun and exciting time, but the time has passed so quickly.  It was only yesterday, I brought her home from the hospital.  What happened to make the time go by?  Where did it all go?


Well, I didn't let my recent hospital visit deter me from celebrating my baby girl's birthday.  Our itinerary included a trip to the Denver Zoo (I got a great deal on Living Social), a picnic in the park, a visit to the Science & Nature museum (we are members), and a puppy themed party.  It wasn't a huge party.  Just us, the two kiddos that Scott babysits, grandma, grandpa, and Uncle Robert.  It was plenty for a little three year old, though!  Lots of love and lots of fun!

 Here are a some pictures of my sweet baby girl:

My hand is this big!

Reflections

Daddy's little girl!

Puppy faces for a puppy party!

Puppy cupcakes!  (These are the labs)

Pugs! 

Schnauzers!

The whole gang.  Complete with paw print and dog bone cupcakes!

Melayna blowing out her candles!  All three of them!

Poor pug didn't stand a chance!

A trip down memory lane:  pictures of Melayna a couple days old.  Here's a link to the post on my previous blog: http://miean.blogspot.com/2008/10/shes-so-irresistable.html

A new start...

Hello and welcome to my blog!


A few years ago I started a blog called To Be Continued... (later renamed Butterfly Kisses and Elephant Parades after my daughter was born).  That was over three years ago.  Over the last year, I have only posted twice.  How lame am I?  Or can I just claim being a very busy, working mom, with way too much to do? 

Anyway, I am starting fresh with a new blog!  Why, you ask?  Well, for one, the old blog is under an email address that I don't use hardly anymore and Blogger won't let me change the sign-in email address. (Boo!).  Also, I like a clean slate!  I like to keep things fresh and exciting!  And I'm too lazy to see if Blogger can really actually change my sign in.

If you would like to read any of my older entries, you can view my previous blog here

Butterfly Kisses & Elephant Parades

Here is my hope for this blog...

• To post an update at least once a week. Even if it is a one-liner with a picture attached, that'll work. But I have to post once a week.
• Keep it G rated - my intention is to share this with family and friends - quite honestly I'm not into the obsenities and such - so if that is what you're looking for - you've got the wrong place.
• Be honest - what's more pathetic than lying to your own blog. It means that you're lying to yourself (and not to mention the whole world) about the things in your life.
• Be fair, partial, and understanding (when possible) - I'm not trying to offend anyone, take certain sides, or twist truths. If you have a valid issue with something I say or post, let it be known to me and I will do what I can to right a wrong (if applicable, because sometimes I'm just right - joking)
• Keep it real (translation: don't let this become an obsession)

 Please keep in mind that what I post here are solely my opinions (or hearsay if I'm quoting someone else).  Just as you are entitled to your opinion, view, beliefs, etc., so am I.  If you really don't like it, please find another blog.  If you don't have anything nice to say, please don't leave it in the comments (unless I specifically ask for all opinions good and bad).  Message me personally if necessary.

I plan to post a few of the activities going on in my life, especially regarding my family life (I have four beautiful children - two of my own and two step-daughters).  I have a crazy, but loving husband who has the best job in the world - stay-at-home dad!  And I love to keep myself busy....very busy. 

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you find some of what I write and post somewhat interesting!

~MJ