must be an acquired taste.

John spent the better part of February in Japan. Three weeks to be exact. If he ever downloads any pictures to my computer, I might share them with you- but until then...

For starters John has never been a fish eater. Never liked it. That works for me, because I don't like it much either. It makes going out to eat easy. "Anything but fish." That's our motto.

But in Japan, he didn't really have a choice. Besides being a cultural faux pas to say "no, thank you", many times it was a matter of eating what was in front of you or going without.

Within those three weeks in addition to regular fish and sushi, John ate snails, squid, octopus, raw lamb, fish eyes, chicken hearts, and blow fish. Something I didn't know- when you order blow fish, you pick your own live fish out of a tank, and they cut it up on the spot, It is so fresh when they serve it to you, some of the pieces are still moving. Ask John and he'll show you the video on his iphone. AND they leave just enough poison on one of the pieces to make your tongue go numb. (If not prepared just right by highly trained professionals, blowfish could kill you.)

He said there were several things he ate but was afraid to ask what it was. About the only things he saw others eating but didn't have the pleasure of trying were chicken feet, and chocolate covered fish.

(If you've known John for some time, you might want to take a seat before reading this next part)

So, John comes home, the Catz challenge ends for me, and we go out with my Catz companions/friends/partners-in-crime to celebrate. I had chicken and pasta. Others had steak. And John, well he ordered Mahi Mahi. Um, hello? Who are you and what have you done with my husband? With all the other non-fish options on the menu, you still order fish?

His response- "I think I like fish now."