Spamalot!

Last night, Mike took Sam to see Spamalot!

They both enjoyed it very much.

Sam came home and declared, "It was a musical!"

Souvenirs were purchased.

Sam bought the soundtrack.

Mike bought the coffee mug that says, "I'm not dead yet!"

They purchased the Black Knight for me.

Meanwhile...

Ana and I went shopping.

A large, new, fancy mall has opened on the south end of the Strip.

Many stores were visited.

Money was spent.

Gifts were purchased.

Food was eaten.

A major design flaw: car traffic is permitted on all the tiny streets.

Tiny streets...into which small children run without looking.

A disaster is looming. I can feel it.

'Tis the Season

It's California Cutie season again.

I'm so happy!

Let's go shopping, shall we?

It's catalog season again.

I was just sending them straight to recycle, then I began to browse.

This one is "The Best of Spain in America."

I'm very fond of this Puente Hand Painted Sangria Pitcher. I might just take up drinking Sangria so I can get one.

This Campofrio Jamon Serrano Ham comes with the bone in and THE HOOF ATTACHED!

A little too creepy for my kitchen.

Sur La Table has always been one of my favorites.

The kids love pancakes. This would be a fun griddle to have. I don't think I want to store it so we can eat Christmas pancakes twice a year. Maybe something with a less "seasonal" design...

Our next offerings are courtesy of Catalog Favorites.

This is just disgusting. Who would want bacon in his pocket?

A stray cat planter...much better than the cats that roam our neighborhood.

I modeled for this one...

I've always wanted a floor-length velvet robe. It reminds me of Isabeau in Ladyhawke.

The Paragon may be one of the most diverse.

If I owned a weiner dog, I would own these, too.

My husband doesn't wear ties or he would be sporting one of these.

I thought the abuse stopped at Halloween. Guess not.

Williams-Sonoma arrived today.

I grew up in Montana.

A Hot Chocolate pitcher would have come in handy.

Not so much in Southern Nevada.

This is pretty. Somehow I feel as if I'm missing something since my wine is not decanted.

Mmmmm.....donuts.

My last one...Sharper Image.

Call me strange, but I WANT actual fire in my candles.

This would be Sam's choice.

I'm ending with more creepy stuff. A robotic Elvis....uhhhh....no!

Fun with Fortune Cookies

My sister taught me a fun thing to do with fortune cookies.

They are much funnier when "...in bed" is added to the end.

Here are four examples of fortunes we received this week.

Try it and see.

Read them and add "...in bed" to the end.

IF YOU LOOK IN THE RIGHT PLACES, YOU CAN FIND SOME GOOD OFFERINGS.

THE JOY OF A YOUNG PERSON WILL BE SHARED WITH YOU.

YOU DESERVE TO HAVE A GOOD TIME AFTER A HARD DAY'S WORK.

YOU ARE HEADING FOR A LAND OF SUNSHINE AND RELAXATION.

Huh?

Eschew obfuscation.

Wisdom from the Chocolate Factory

We are fortunate enough to live in the same town as Ethel's Chocolate Lounge (formerly Ethel M Chocolates.)

Louise sent us a gift certificate for Halloween so we strolled through the cactus garden, took the obligitory walk through the factory to get our free sample, and bought some chocolate.

The factory tour now comes with a history of chocolate and what I like to call "chocolate wisdom." I, herewith, share the wisdom with you.

The 12 Step Chocolate Program

Never be more than 12 steps away from chocolate.

There is a theory that chocolate slows the ageing process...

it may not be true, but why take the chance.

"A piece of chocolate contains just as much energy as you need to take another piece."

Menu Plan Monday

An eight-hundred dollar car repair bill necessitates choosing food that is "on sale" this week.

Monday: Poached Salmon ($5.99/lb), Cucumber-Dill Sauce, Broccoli
Tuesday: Chicken Cordon Bleu (chicken breasts $2.99/lb), BLT Caesar Salad ($2.50)
Wednesday: Salmon burgers on Sourdough English Muffins, coleslaw
Thursday: Spaghetti, Italian sausage, salad
Friday: Macaroni & Cheese, Spam (special request from Sam. I'll eat something else!)

Many of these items are already in the house so I didn't have to buy them. I only spent $35 on food for this week's menu. Not bad for a family of four eating 5 dinners.

Veteran's Day

Life, liberty and the pursuit of those who threaten it.

The only thing harder than being a soldier, is loving one.

This looks pretty damn hard to me.

The Busy Mom's Guide to Lunch

This was a busy week for me. I ate in restaurants a lot.

Monday I ate lunch here with Ana. I picked her up from school and let her miss math class. Oh, relax...she had a good solid A when we did that!

Wednesday I was working and ate there with my co-worker. Yes, I'm gainfully employed again. I work at a fun job that requires little effort, pays decently and I can do it on my own time when the kids are in school. Not too shabby.

Thursday Mike took the day off and we ate at a local Italian restaurant. We even sat at the same table! It was soooo....romantic! We sat on the patio overlooking the Speedee Mart, I just love the smell of gasoline and Pepsi in the afternoon, smells like love. (Guest author..can you tell? This is what happens when I leave a post unattended for 30 minutes!)

Friday - Mike was off again and took me to a great restaurant. I hadn't eaten there before, but he had. What a treat!

Friday night brought us to our regional black belt test. After that, we went to this pizza place to eat with our karate friends. Our very helpful server was the mom of one of our students. What a coincidence.

Now we're on to Saturday and Ana's last soccer game of the season and that means a trip to our favorite place.

I've eaten more restaurant meals in the last week than I have in the past 6 months. I'm just about ready to start eating at home.

No One Told the Dog...

...about the end of Daylight Saving Time.

Mike gets up at 5:30 in the morning to prepare to trudge off to the office to take care of the family. Gizmo wakes up with him and wants to go outside. Now, Gizmo doesn't go to the kitchen and ask Mike to let him out. He scratches at the door in the master bedroom so I have to walk all the way through the house to the kitchen to let him out.

We have a rather large alarm clock in our bedroom. Large red numbers. Digital. Easy to read. Apparently, no one taught the dog to tell time.

You already know what's going on in our house. The dog is getting up at FOUR THIRTY IN THE MORNING!!! I'm tired and annoyed, but I don't know how to teach a chihuahua about time changes.

Maybe we should move to Arizona. They don't change the clocks.

I'd probably mind more if he weren't so cute.

A food meme

Okay, so I didn't get tagged by anyone, but I find this kind of thing interesting. I saw it first on say la vee who was tagged by Stephanie.

K ~ Kidney beans. Good in chili but not much else I can think of.

A ~ Artichoke Hearts. Really good in Bacon & Artichoke Chicken Salad

R ~ Raspberries. I have trouble paying for them since they were (almost) free in Oregon.

E ~ Edamame. Comes covered in Dark Chocolate at Trader Joe's. Blech.

N ~ Nutella. A nearly perfect product.

A Better Look

This looks good even when covered in dirt.

I don't really believe this guy is an actual soldier...but his clothes look alright.

Even this is preferable to sweat suits.

They all have such good posture.

He's gonna pop a button.

I'm pretty sure he had to jump

the fence at The Mirage

for this picture.

If these guys jump the fence, he can put them

in jail.

A Sad State of Affairs

I consider it a sad state of affairs

that the sweatsuit has become

'de rigeur' in this country.

These skinny girls don't look too bad.

I hope these folks are headed for the soccer pitch.

If I had this @$$ I might write "Juicy" across it.

I know a beautiful woman who wears this and looks great!

This is my favorite sweatsuit.

I was #23 when I played basketball in 6th grade.

I know someone else who wore #23.

By the end of the post, it's starting to look like sour grapes.

Thin people look good in sweat suits.

I'm not thin.

Day Five, Post #2

Go here.

Click the "everything" link.

Sit patiently.

Laugh.

Menu Plan Monday

Monday..........Wild Sockeye Salmon, sauteed spinach, couscous

Tuesday*.........Turkey meatloaf, roasted sweet potatoes

Wednesday*....Cape Breton Chicken** over brown rice

Thursday*.......Hashbrown Quiche, green salad

Friday.............ummmm....Black belt test tonight. I'll figure something out. Mike is taking the day off so maybe he will cook.

* Trying new recipes on old favorites. My meatloaf is always boring so I need something new. As for quiche - I always leave off the crust because I don't really like it so I'm trying a new crust.

** The chicken recipe is from Fix-It and Forget-It Lightly, a crockpot cookbook.

Socks!

Ana has 15 socks on her dresser.

There are no matches!

Happy Birthday Sam!

Sam is eleven years old today.

For his birthday dinner, we ate at The Elephant Bar.

We had to eat a day early since Ana has a soccer game tonight.

This is Sam keeping an eye on things.

We measured him this morning.

He is 5'6"

He's now taller than his mom.

To what lengths?

I considered cutting the cup off

to get the last of the caramel

from my Grande Non-fat Caramel Macchiatto.

Happy Halloween

Here's how the night ended up...

Sam's friend Grant stopped by just as we were leaving to Trick-or-Treat, so we all went together. About a block out, Ana got a call from her friend Cheyenne who joined us. So instead of being just Ana & Sam, we ended up with eight kids, my good friend Debbie and me.

Sam went with his improvised pirate outfit.

Ana is the "Fashion Police" which is completely appropriate for her.