Thanksgiving To-Go

Thanksgiving meal

Turkey & gravy, green beans, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, Brussels sprouts, stuffing, and mashed potatoes.

So, if you have nothing else to do today, love on some Thanksgiving dinner from anywhere.

Take-Away Life Lesson:  Getting your Thanksgiving dinner to-go can save you from both cooking and cleaning for the day.

No Bug In This One

Waffle from the diner

I was dying for another waffle even after my awful experience with the waffle from my hometown diner I frequent.  But this time I chose to go to the newly discovered diner in my hometown and try one of their waffles instead on this particular occasion.

I got my order to-go and, as you can see, when I got home I wasn’t about to eat this goodness without first checking the bottom of it in case any of Herman’s relatives recently passed away.

Waffle from the diner

Obviously, I lucked out this time and there were no bugs on the backside.  Hip hip, huzzah!  Whew!  I can’t tell you how scared I was lifting this bad boy up to check for bugs in the first place.  Bugs should be the last thing on my mind when I’m at the ready to eat a waffle.

So, if you have nothing else to do today, enjoy a waffle from your local diner but inspect it well before picking up your fork.

Take-Away Life Lesson:  It’s always good to make sure there’s not a bug burial site hidden in your waffles.

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What Joy My Pasta Pot Brings

Pasta Pot

Who knew a pasta pot could put a 32-teeth smile on your face?  I’ve always wanted a pasta pot ever since I saw Rachael Ray pull a pasta insert out of her pot.  Oh, my heavens!  This would SO make my life a little easier!

Out shopping one day, low and behold, I happened upon a pasta pot by mere coincidence as I was perusing the aisleways.  And there I HAD to have it!  Love, love, love, and more love.

Pasta Pot

I mean, how exciting is this!!!  For crying out loud—LOOK AT THE HOLES, LOOK AT THE HOLES!  Oh, gratitude to the brilliant soul who had the forethought to make such a concoction.

I haven’t had a chance to give it a go yet, but I can’t wait!  Oh, what to make, what to make?  The possibilities are endless.

So, if you have nothing else to do today, go get yourself a fancy pasta pot and cook up some pasta then watch the water strain from the holes as you pull the insert out.  Oh, what fun!

Take-Away Life Lesson:  Who knew a few holes in a pot could bring so much joy to life?

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Ready For Cooking

My Rule Of Thumb

Breakfast at the diner

Pancake, French Toast with thick sourdough bread topped with powdered sugar, and a Waffle topped with powdered sugar; served with loads of butter and maple syrup.

You all know my rule of thumb:  When you can’t decide between one or more things, just get one of each and save yourself the headache and stress of deciding.  Why put yourself through all the torture for crying out loud?!

Here was such an occasion.  I decided to go eat breakfast at that newly discovered diner I found.  (Not to be confused with the regular diner I go to for 6″ x 5″ x 2″ cinnamon rolls and whatnot.)

I knew all morning I wanted something that required syrup—a pancake, a waffle, or French toast.  And at this new diner I discovered, all three are phenomenal.  So it was tough choosing.

After all, I had given this a lot of thought on the home front from the moment I woke up and up until I left the house.  It also consumed my thoughts on the 20-minute drive out to the diner, and during the 10 minutes or so that I told the server to give me after I was handed the menu once I arrived.  Geez!

It was IMPOSSIBLE to decide!  In my head, they all seemed so great that I knew I could devour any one of them at a moment’s notice.  As I was sitting at the table, it hit me all of a sudden—my rule of thumb!  If there ever was a time to apply my rule, this was it.  I mean, I had already marinated on it a little too long as it was, ya think?

Man!  Once I realized my rule of thumb was available to use—the stress of thinking about it all and making a decision about what to order just seamlessly floated away.  ‘Just give me one of each.’  Now I can consume my thoughts with something else or leave it entirely blank.  Ahhh, the good life.

So, if you have nothing else to do today, see if you can apply my rule of thumb to any given situation you find yourself in.

Take-Away Life Lesson:  No need to rack your brain with hard decisions.  The rule of thumb is there for a reason.

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I Had A Blast In Culinary Class

I made a pie crust from scratch for the first time ever in my life!  What an accomplishment for me.  If you know anything about me, you know I’m one to buy my crusts already made in the store to save myself a year of my life.

But if you’ve never gone to culinary school before, I’d suggest it.  It was actually fun.  When I saw an apple pie making class on the schedule, I hopped right on it so I could try my hand at crust-making.

I was a late enrollee so the class was already full, but the teacher said she had enough ingredients and space that they could go ahead and squeeze me in.

I arrived early bird style.  And first off, Egads!!  I wasn’t thrilled with the choice of ugly green aprons they had for us to borrow!  You could say I was a little disturbed.  But there was clearly a bigger purpose of me being there.  So I let it slide—after all I am there to learn pie crust making.  Let’s FOCUS.

But, heretofore, let it be known I will definitely be bringing my white Betty Boop apron with me to wear should I find myself at any of these future classes!  (Now where were we?)

First off, the instructor had us gather ’round her as she made an entire pie and gave us detailed instructions while we asked our questions.  Then we went back to our stations and got to work.  The instructor and her assistants constantly walked around and were great at helping us along.

When it was time to make the pie crust, it reinforced upon me WHY I always buy my crusts pre-made in the stores—there was just so much work involved!  Yeah, there’s nothing like crust made from scratch—but only if you have time on your hands you want to fill up.

The only thing I kept thinking and saying out loud at my table was how much quicker this would have gone and at what point we would all be at in the apple-pie-making process had we a pre-made pie crust in front of us.

Granted, I know that was the purpose of the class and it was actually fun to make in the class—but at home??  I had visions in my head of my patience levels and thought ‘I don’t think so.’

Making crust from scratch will be a once-in-a-blue-moon thing for me, sorry to say.  Later in life, that could change.

Apple pie in the oven

The finished product had to be taken home for baking in the oven.  The instructor suggested baking it straight away, but said it was fine to do the next day since we’d be getting home late in the evening.  As you can see, I put a lot of lovin’ into this.  Ain’t she a beaut?  It turned out really good.

So, if you have nothing else to do today, find different classes you can take at your local culinary center.  You’ll have loads of fun.

Take-Away Life Lesson:  Bring your own Betty Boop apron from home to these classes, lest you get stuck wearing an ugly green one.

I Love Dinner And A Play

This is a night I went to a dinner theatre restaurant and had a grand old time.  This just happened to be when the fabulous “I Dream Of Jeannie” Barbara Eden was in town performing for several weeks.

She was perfection in her performance.  The play was marvelous and I loved every minute of it.

I was also fortunate enough to meet her—but not on this particular day though.  I met her on the street another week when she was out and about running around town.  I mean, she was living here for about 10 weeks after all.  She is the tiniest thing ever and does not even look like she’s in her 80’s.

She’s so sweet to talk to and I got to talk to her husband, too.  He gave me a little run down about the city.  He seemed to be more familiar with it than I am—especially the history of it.  Just a lovely couple.

The menu was divine.  Of course, I go through the buffet line and get one of each—as only I would do.  The food was phenomenal.

The play generally starts after everyone is finished with dinner.  Halfway through, there’s an intermission and dessert is brought out—then the last half of the play is performed.

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So, if you have nothing else to do today, find a dinner theatre in your area and go see a play while enjoying a fabulous dinner.

Take-Away Life Lesson:  Stop forgetting to take pictures when meeting celebrities.

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Let's Laugh! My Uncle's Dry Sense Of Humor

Double Toilets joke

One of my uncles is such a jokester.  Case in point—when he got himself his very own restaurant, the jokes carried over into the restaurant.

Who in the world would put two toilet stools side-by-side next to each other in the same room for crying out loud?!  MY UNCLE, that’s who!  Yeah, let’s save some time and use the bathroom together.  I mean, we’re all family here—and, if not, we’ll soon be like family after this.

And take note of the parking meter on the wall.  There is a time limit depending on how much you put in the meter—and you’ll apparently be fined if you don’t deposit more money into it.  Some of you will no doubt need to deposit a much larger sum of coins than others. (Wink, wink.)

Stool Sample joke

Oh, this is my absolute FAVORITE!  It’s a STOOL SAMPLE!  Hardy-har-har!  I swear—every time I see my uncle the next time ’round he has a new joke for me.  This was too funny not to take a picture of.

Granted, I was scared at first to open the container when he handed it to me.  I mean, you never really know with him.

Nose Cleaner joke

How disgusting is this one?!  And who has a nose that big anyway?!

Click on the pictures and help yourself to some more dry humor if you didn’t get enough of it so far.  My uncle can go on and on for days with it.

Why don’t you just stick any of these cards in your wallet and whip them out as you see fit.

  • If you don’t have your own Pride & Joy to show off to your friends, well now you do.
  • You can now afford to give away Free Tickets all day to everyone you know.
  • Just turn the Bender card around the other way to whichever face appeals to you most.

The legs go on and on.

So, if you have nothing else to do today, show off your jokes to your friends and to the world.  Make people smile and laugh.  The world really could use more laughter in it.

Take-Away Life Lesson:  Laughter really is the best medicine.