Bar Stool Incident

It had been a stressful week, so I decided to go to the local bar with my daughter for a cheeseburger and a couple of drinks.  (BTW-If you ever want an amazing tenderloin sandwich, pizza to die for, or the best fried chicken that I've ever had (and you are in the Peoria, Illinois area), you must go to Gil's Supper Club or The Warehouse - which is the more informal bar that is adjoined and operated by the same great family!) I love going up to the Warehouse.  After my husband passed away, its owner - who was my husband's dearest friend, really looked after me and I always knew that if I was feeling lonely or lost I could pop in there and be greeted warmly, get a great hug and a few laughs from "Mikey" or one of his sons or wife.  It broke all of our hearts when just a little over a year after I lost Chuck - we lost Mikey too and now his sons and wife still run both businesses.  Great family - great place!

So my daughter and I head up there and it is fish night and the Warehouse is packed! We see neighbors and some friends and of course the Smith "boys" who are always fun.  It's like "Cheers" for us - everyone knows our names and it's a great time just about 4 blocks from home! We order the best cheeseburgers in the world and are sitting at the bar visiting with everyone when....it happened!

I got my feet stuck in the barstool!! I had tucked both of my feet under the chair and behind the bar of the bar stool.  I'm a big "foot/leg tucker upper" - I joke that I may be on the "spectrum" (ASD) because I tuck my legs under me and I rock. haha I'm sitting there laughing and having a good time with my feet tucked behind that bar when I feel my one foot start to fall asleep.  I go to reposition my feet and realize that....I can't really move them at all because I can't get them out from behind the stool bar!  I try and try for quite awhile and then finally I quietly say to Bonnie, "Ummm my feet are stuck in my bar stool".  She laughed like I was kidding.  I keep trying to dislodge them and finally she says to me, "Are you serious??" and looks down at my feet. Now the laughing starts.

See my foot stuck?

I tell her she needs to help me, so she gets off her barstool (not before taking the picture) and tries to turn and manipulate my feet so I can pull them out.  The table behind us gets a kick out of it and are laughing.  She gets back on her stool and was like, "I don't know what to tell you...it's going to be heck when you have to use the bathroom".  She then says I could stand up, knock the bar stool down backwards when I do and then step out of it - but I should wait until the place thins out a little.  I'm thinking that might work, when a couple of guys go t pay for their dinner and are standing behind me laughing.  One of them says, "excuse me" and tells me he's dropped his ticket down on the seat of my stool and needs to reach behind me to get it.  I say that's fine and then say, I'd rather it be there then on the floor, because I couldn't get off my stool to move for him to get it.  More laughing and a few strange looks.

About this time, Bonnie announces to our friends tending bar, "Mom has her feet stuck in the barstool!" More laughing and one of them goes back in the kitchen and announces it to everyone else working. Ohhhh boy.  My legs are now both asleep and I'm getting pretty uncomfortable. I've also talked myself into having to go to the bathroom just because I know I can't and I'm feeling this might get kinda serious.  I've complicated the standing up, letting the bar stool fall behind me suggestion - but am pretty sure I can't stand up at this point because my feet are so fast asleep.  This is getting ridiculous!

Finally one of our friends who was working, comes and sits on the stool next to me and studies my feet - laughing of course.  "How in the (heck) did you do that?" ..."how did you get them like that and can't get them back out?"  .....argh.  Finally, after studying the situation a bit he asks, "How about if you kicked your shoes off and tried to get your feet out?"  .......WELL, DUH!!!!

Even though my feet were super asleep, I managed to kick one shoe off, pull that leg up with my arms (because I seriously could not move my legs at this point) and...get it out of the stool!! That let me get the other one out and...I was free!!

WOW!

Margarita Recipe

I found this recipe for margaritas and wanted to share!  It looks easy and sounds soooo good!

Plant Watering Tip

I started out writing this long blog and was typing so fast that I hit the wrong keys and deleted 95% of the entire thing!! UGH! You know how that is....I was on a roll and now it is impossible to try to re-do it all! I hate when that happens!!

Anyway - I want to share a plant tip that I have.  My mom always watered her plants this way and so the idea came from her. : ) BUT, instead of pouring water into my indoor plants (and my outdoor container plants in the summer) I put in ice cubes!  This way I don't have any spill over, leaking from the bottom, or have to worry about spilling my water before I get to my plants - (which happens more than I care to share).  It's quick, easy, allows the water time to soak into the soil instead of just washing all of the minerals out of the soil and right out of the bottom of the pot! ~~ THANKS MOM!!

(The only problem I have ever ran into is with my GoldenDoodle, Toby.  He knows that I put ice in his water bowl.  So when he sees the water in the plant pots he looks at me like I've lost my mind, picks out the ice cubes from the plant and carries them to his bowl.  He will make as many trips as he must to get the ice where it belongs - in his bowl! It's hilarious to watch him, because honestly he stares at me the whole time he's doing it as if to say, "Why do you keep screwing this up?" hahaha)

Best Spaghetti Bake Recipe - E V E R

Sooo I'm not a great big cook these days.  Chuck (bless his heart) usually did most of the cooking and then when it was just me I usually ate something fast at the counter.  Every once in a GREAT while though a recipe will catch my eye and I MUST try it - even if it means eating leftovers from it for a week.  This is one of those recipes.  I wish I knew who originally posted it so I could give them credit - I only changed a couple of things.....

Ingredients:

8 oz uncooked spaghetti
1 pound ground beef (I used more the second time I made this)
1 large can of spaghetti sauce (I used Prego garlic, onion and pepper sauce)
1 T butter
1/3 cup of chopped onion
8 oz cream cheese
2 T milk
Fresh grated Parmesan cheese
Small can french fried onions
(optional - 1/3 cup of red or green peppers)

Directions:

1.   Cook spaghetti according to directions on the package.  Cook al dente, drain and set aside.
2.   Brown ground beef. Drain excess grease. Add spaghetti sauce to skillet and heat.
3.   Combine onions, (pepper if using), and butter in small glass bowl.  Cover and microwave 4        minutes on High until soft
4.   Add cream cheese and milk to butter mixture and stir well.  (If cream cheese is not soft, nuke it fo4 20-30 seconds to make it easy to spread)
5.   Using 10x6 dish, assemble in following order :

       *  thin layer of spaghetti sauce on bottom of casserole dish
       *  spaghetti
       *  cream cheese/veggie mixture
       *  spaghetti sauce/meat mixture
       *  Parmesan Cheese (to your taste)
       *  French onions (added during last 5 mins of baking)

6.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.  Top with French Fried onions and continue baking for 5 more minutes...keeping watch so they don't burn.

YUMMY!! If you're going to freeze it or refrigerate it before serving - leave off the onions until you actually bake it.

Bonnie Moved Home!

So Bonnie moved home and we are still trying to get her settled!  I have a 3 car garage and for awhile there couldn't get one car in it because of all of her stuff! ha  Now, we need to work on getting HER car into it as well - still full of stuff!  I wil post a picture later so you will know what I'm talking about! WOW!  It's fun to have her home though - we kind of do our own thing and hang out when we can or need to.  We're still trying to get the basement finished, but are making great progress....

We started with a totally unfinished basement that had lots of room and lots of possibility.  Walls were framed, plumbing set, electrical ran and mid way through we looked about like this....

At this point, we had to stop, regroup and decide how we wanted to finish it.  (I don't know why I say "we" so much...haha...more like "me", but Toby helped too.  Then, in December we HAD to start up again because Bonnie was moving home on Christmas Eve (??)....and my "pool guy" became my "basement guy" and put down the flooring, the ceiling, the trim, the tile, etc. and got us to here...

Wood floor and cool tile layout by sliding doors....

Put in the glass block window 1 and trimmed it. I LOVE this window. It is in the "hall" area and bathroom - adds light to both places - very cool!

Block window number 2 - above wet bar (he put that in for us too) and again shares a wall with the bathroom - haha - bringing in light! 

View from bathroom of "bar" block window.  heehee...(not sure I like my paint choice for this bathroom yet....any suggestions?)

A vew of block window #2, hall, doorway to bathroom and....the MESS!! Between moving Bonnie's stuff in and my "garden" and "pool" stuff out of the way - it's a wonder there was any room to work.  I LOVE the wide trim!!

Here is a view of the main room - you can see where the bar/island will go - waiting on counter top, the ceiling - wasn't my choice (long story) but the pool guy made it look awesome!  Love the 5 inch lights....and that pole....I'm either going to do a white column...or for now may wrap in rope to go with my "beachy" theme and see how I like that for awhile....of course you see Bon's furniture...we are going to be looking for off while slip covers for it.....

Here's a peek at Bonnie's bedroom! She went gray and gray for her color scheme! LOL  She got the chandelier at IKEA - we need to put a ceiling "round" thing at the top instead of having the rod just poke out of the ceiling.  She also has cool tree motives to put on the darker back wall BUT we tried to put them up......

Here you see her working......but the next morning we got up and it was down!  Probably because of the rought plaster - so we ordered another middle tree (this one) and are going to try it again using spray adhesive along with it to see if that works.  I'll let you know how it goes!

Today we are going to go look for curtains for the other windows in the basement and the sliding doors - if she ever gets out of bed and we don't decide to stay inside where it's warm and safe because it's blowing snow out today.

January 5, 2012

It was a good day today! I met up with Debby and Kim from work and had lunch at the warehouse.  Bonnie joined us and that's always fun (especially when she busts my chops!) ha ~ For example...Debby started recollecting a story I had told her about getting lost on my way home from the warehouse awhile back and I was trying to refresh Bonnie's memory about it...I said, "you know when I called you crying and I'd fallen down and was lost?"  Bonnie says, "ummm that happened quite often there for awhile, actually". hahaha

Toby was a pretty good boy today - he did "bug" the pool guy a bit as he was working in the basement...tried to take his cap...tried to take off with his pencil LOL - He just wants to help!

Bonnie and I bought SMASH journals today? I hadn't heard of them before - they're like journals that are already "decorated" up for you a little and then you add stuff to it.  Should be fun.  I used to keep a journal all of the time....until my mom read it. LOL  She said she didn't but then she'd quote things from it at me...then, just smirk because she knew I knew....a w k w a r d!

Bonnie, Adam and I were sitting here and the doorbell rang.......it was Toby. lol. I'm so glad other people witness what this goofy dog does - otherwise I fear no one would believe me!  He needs to join me on my diet, though.  Today he was laying on the couch sleeping...but his head was still up - not on a pillor or laying down next to him.  Bonnie says, "MOM! Look - his neck is so big that he has his own built in pillow! This is ridiculous!" About that time, Toby woke himself up with a snort and Bonnie continues, "See he has apnea too!" lol

I have a picture of Toby and his neck that I'll share...of course in this picture he is eating a chew toy LOL (looks like a cigar out of his mouth).  This will be Toby's BEFORE picture ( I will NOT post mine on here!) haha

Love him! : )

Happy New Year~

Toby and I have decided to lose weight this year (for Tyler's wedding), save more money and spend less (we have both been indulging in some serious retail therapy and indulging the kids a bit too much), and working on getting the house organized and de-cluttered!

Toby is on house arrest today.  (Meaning I hook him up when I let him outside).  He was sitting out in the yard on Friday - enjoying the weather and then all of a sudden he disappeared.   Usually all I have to do is shake the treat bag out the door and he'll come running...unless, of course he is visiting someone else's house.  So after about 10 minutes of treat shaking and still no Toby, I noticed that his favorite stuffed white bear is laying in the drive way of a house 3 doors down...hmmmm......I can see this house from inside my house because they are at the other edge of the cul-de-sac. So, I kept looking that direction - deciding if I should put my shoes on and see if Toby was over there - and began wondering what I would do if he was! He hadn't gotten in that house before (that I know of)though sometimes he goes over to play when the grand kids visit. It was taking him so long to come home though, I began to think maybe he had locked himself in or something worse...  Finally I was putting on my shoes, looked up and see their garage door open and Toby come running out!  I quickly stepped outside, pointed back at the house he was running from and yelled, "Well, get your bear!" He stopped, turned, ran back to his bear, grabbed it and then came running home. As the neighbors garage door went back down.........