Well its been a little over a month... or two since my surgery and I am fine. All that wasted energy on worry and doubt and all I had to do was really let go and let God.
Though I should mention that I couldn't get through it without my family, friends, and support system at church... thanks guys!
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
The MAC is Back
I love MAC... the MAC is all better now, and Apple even fixed it for free, and it is way out of the warranty not even near it. Can you even believe that, those guys are great! You see with windows I can't even talk to a human on the phone, and unless you are a computer repair person many people have problems with crashing and freezing. I had MAC on for 3 years straight and it never shut off or froze or anything.
Now with MAC every tells me, I just don't know how to work it... I don't understand it. Well let me tell you I thought the same thing and I had some anxiety, but it was so easy to learn. It is built to be simpler you just have to remove the "I can't" roadblock.
really I am not trying to sell you a MAC just trying to share in my excitement of having my MAC back....
Luuuke... come to the MAC side
Now with MAC every tells me, I just don't know how to work it... I don't understand it. Well let me tell you I thought the same thing and I had some anxiety, but it was so easy to learn. It is built to be simpler you just have to remove the "I can't" roadblock.
really I am not trying to sell you a MAC just trying to share in my excitement of having my MAC back....
Luuuke... come to the MAC side
Monday, December 15, 2008
Hot Diggity Dogs
I am a hot dog fan. I love them with tons of stuff on them or hardly anything at all. My favorite that I make at home is... chili, cheese, onion, green chilis, mustard, sourkraut, dill relish. Heartburn city I know.
Anyways my husband while we were dating introduced me to Taylors and they are so good that is no doubt, but I am a cheese person and I always said to my self "self... this would be perfect with cheese" Now this is just personal opinion and I don't want to cause a stir...
When Hot Diggity first opened up where the old Jolly Cone was on Noble and Lovers Lane I went there and wow Taylors with cheese.... I knew it, boy were they good and I went there alot, well one day it had a new name and they were gone, the new place is okay I am not a huge fan but I will stop by, not for the hotdogs though, to greasy and they just don't taste right.
I thought I would never get a Diggity again until I was driving to Tulare the back way and stopped at the gas station past the overpass (locals know) and there it was tucked into a gas station. I pulled in and got me a Diggity and it wasn't as fabulous as I remembered but it was yummy and a little on the greasy side but that's okay CAUSE ITS A CHILI DOG...
Anyways my husband while we were dating introduced me to Taylors and they are so good that is no doubt, but I am a cheese person and I always said to my self "self... this would be perfect with cheese" Now this is just personal opinion and I don't want to cause a stir...
When Hot Diggity first opened up where the old Jolly Cone was on Noble and Lovers Lane I went there and wow Taylors with cheese.... I knew it, boy were they good and I went there alot, well one day it had a new name and they were gone, the new place is okay I am not a huge fan but I will stop by, not for the hotdogs though, to greasy and they just don't taste right.
I thought I would never get a Diggity again until I was driving to Tulare the back way and stopped at the gas station past the overpass (locals know) and there it was tucked into a gas station. I pulled in and got me a Diggity and it wasn't as fabulous as I remembered but it was yummy and a little on the greasy side but that's okay CAUSE ITS A CHILI DOG...
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Getting Ready for Christmas
Okay so I really really love christmas. Growing up christmas decorations went up the day after Thanksgiving and stayed up till New Years Day... cause we're crazy like that! My husband is the son of Grinch (but secretly I think he likes it) With the economy the way it is we are cutting way back, and you know it isn't so bad, it is more about the kids and our parents.
I started a christmas organizer, oooh that is fun, perfect for my control freak nature, they also have a plan out for easter to. It is called the Christmas Organizer, I had everything done before december... except for 1-2 little gifts. Decorating, meal planning... yep this year I am tossing my feet up and watching the show. Out of goodness of my heart I am sharing the website for this. http://organizedchristmas.com/
I also suggest the Household organizer it is super fabulous and it is nice if you want to start organizing things. Now I noticed that some of the people on this site are a little "maniac" with their folders and hey that's cool, but I am more of a empty out an old binder from school and use it, kind of girl.
anyhoo it works, do it.
End the madness now.
I started a christmas organizer, oooh that is fun, perfect for my control freak nature, they also have a plan out for easter to. It is called the Christmas Organizer, I had everything done before december... except for 1-2 little gifts. Decorating, meal planning... yep this year I am tossing my feet up and watching the show. Out of goodness of my heart I am sharing the website for this. http://organizedchristmas.com/
I also suggest the Household organizer it is super fabulous and it is nice if you want to start organizing things. Now I noticed that some of the people on this site are a little "maniac" with their folders and hey that's cool, but I am more of a empty out an old binder from school and use it, kind of girl.
anyhoo it works, do it.
End the madness now.
Monday, December 1, 2008
Rio Churrasco Brazilian Restaurant
So Brazilian food hmmm. I am intrigued and therefore I went....this is my sacrifice to you, not for me and my obsession with food.
Here in Visalia there are sooo many places to eat that it is just plain difficult to choose, so we get into our fav's and stay there, but I say lets try something different and Rio Churrasco that sounds different.
So the paper says there are "waiters, called gauchos, wearing red sashes" bringing skewers of meat, and I am down with that; bring it on I say. I went during lunch and it was a little slow, with my friend and they gave me a block that's red on one side that signals you are done; and green on the other that signals bring more food. How easy is that every place should do that. It's kind of a cave man approach to eating.
I was excited about the prospect of "skewers of meat" coming at me; my first round came after I went to the buffet area to fill up with beans, rice, veggies, etc. He put tiny little pieces of what ever he happened to have on the skewer. It was super good, but the caveman inside wanted to say "leave skewer.. go away" grunt grunt. Go green. save a trip, me want bigger portions.
Though it was small the flavor was huge, there was not one single item I didn't like there, that is when I grasped the concept behind the little pieces, there was a big variety of meats, and he just kept coming by bringing little pieces. I can't even really pin point which one was a favorite they are all just good, that is pretty rare these days to like a menu. I can't say I would go there often because I do have a problem with $15 per person for lunch. But it was mmm mmm good.
Here in Visalia there are sooo many places to eat that it is just plain difficult to choose, so we get into our fav's and stay there, but I say lets try something different and Rio Churrasco that sounds different.
So the paper says there are "waiters, called gauchos, wearing red sashes" bringing skewers of meat, and I am down with that; bring it on I say. I went during lunch and it was a little slow, with my friend and they gave me a block that's red on one side that signals you are done; and green on the other that signals bring more food. How easy is that every place should do that. It's kind of a cave man approach to eating.
I was excited about the prospect of "skewers of meat" coming at me; my first round came after I went to the buffet area to fill up with beans, rice, veggies, etc. He put tiny little pieces of what ever he happened to have on the skewer. It was super good, but the caveman inside wanted to say "leave skewer.. go away" grunt grunt. Go green. save a trip, me want bigger portions.
Though it was small the flavor was huge, there was not one single item I didn't like there, that is when I grasped the concept behind the little pieces, there was a big variety of meats, and he just kept coming by bringing little pieces. I can't even really pin point which one was a favorite they are all just good, that is pretty rare these days to like a menu. I can't say I would go there often because I do have a problem with $15 per person for lunch. But it was mmm mmm good.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Keothip Restaurant
This is a goodie, I love Thai food;introduced to me by my aunt, who was married to a man who was Thai.
My favorite dish her is Larb, whether it is beef or chicken I don't care it is so good, it is a simple dish to make so if it is bad... that is sad. Now when you go into the Keothip it is smallish and a little dark not overdone. They sit you pretty fast, I am not into thai tea's and things so I can't tell you about that (I'm a pepsi girl). The service is not the fastest or the greatest but they don't abuse you or anything and they bring great food, so that's the compromise. Order ahead if you are in a hurry though or call in for to go if you are on a lunch break.
I order the larb always when I am alone, but about 10 of us went there for a birthday/dinner thing and it was so much fun. The food came family style, which is something that restaurants are really missing out on I think; it was super fun pass this, pass that, hey where did that come from gimme that. They have these things my daughter really likes called shrimp nest basically some kind of noodle wrapped around a shrimp and deep fried mmm mmm. I didn't really like there curry. Chicken Satay was also yummy it had a nice peanut-ty flavor that I really enjoyed. And of course the Larb (Laab) Chicken can I say yummy enough here... it is a bit of citrus, and spicy with some soft and crunchy textures in it. The crunchy is from the toasted, ground rice that is mixed in, all in all my sugesstion is go to this place they are fabulous... and yummy.
My favorite dish her is Larb, whether it is beef or chicken I don't care it is so good, it is a simple dish to make so if it is bad... that is sad. Now when you go into the Keothip it is smallish and a little dark not overdone. They sit you pretty fast, I am not into thai tea's and things so I can't tell you about that (I'm a pepsi girl). The service is not the fastest or the greatest but they don't abuse you or anything and they bring great food, so that's the compromise. Order ahead if you are in a hurry though or call in for to go if you are on a lunch break.
I order the larb always when I am alone, but about 10 of us went there for a birthday/dinner thing and it was so much fun. The food came family style, which is something that restaurants are really missing out on I think; it was super fun pass this, pass that, hey where did that come from gimme that. They have these things my daughter really likes called shrimp nest basically some kind of noodle wrapped around a shrimp and deep fried mmm mmm. I didn't really like there curry. Chicken Satay was also yummy it had a nice peanut-ty flavor that I really enjoyed. And of course the Larb (Laab) Chicken can I say yummy enough here... it is a bit of citrus, and spicy with some soft and crunchy textures in it. The crunchy is from the toasted, ground rice that is mixed in, all in all my sugesstion is go to this place they are fabulous... and yummy.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Lets Talk Pizza Buffet!
Before I get started Happy Birthday Kim... love ya sister!
I should start off with I loooooove pizza, like I really love pizza. Now I am not a fan of New York Style, I love the cheese, and misc confetti of random toppings slapped together to make a special treat that requires no dishes to wash, really how can you go wrong with that.... I ask you... how?
So Pizza Buffets, you can imagine is mmm mmm good in my eyes, cause you can have as much as you want, and for me that works great. I am a bit of a gluten. My favorite part about pizza buffet is you get salad, and there is no fighting over what pizza to get. So this is a two-fer because it is really important to know about the good, the okay, and the ugly.
The Good: Round Table Pizza
I have been to a couple of them in the valley just to make sure... And let me tell you their pizza is so good, they kick all the kinds of pizza, not just the cheap pizzas, this is where I finally discovered the Maui Zaui, it is a hawaiian style pizza but you can get a choice of sauce. The other sauce choice is a sweet chili sauce (I buy it at the Thai Grocery Store), oh man this is truly good.
It is a good time to try new pizzas and their salad bar is really good, the lettuce is really fresh, and there is so many toppings to choose from, I think I counted 15 or so toppings. I almost forgot about the cheesy breads and cinnamon stick... 2 words Sticky Goodness, by far the best I had ever had, they are that good if they stopped selling the pizza, and served only those I would be super fine with that.
Everything is real nice, the set up at the Mary's Vineyard is a little small but it seems that everyone is real patient about it, and well its worth it. They keep the place real clean no visible signs of grossness, and the customer service has always been really good, and that is pretty hard.
The Mom & Pop: There is a pizza place with a sports theme on Ben Maddox and Douglass kind there is a Git & Go there. I found that the pizza there was okay, Pepperoni seemed to be the theme of the day, which I am not saying thats bad, a good pepperoni is fine with me, but at a buffet I expect variety. I believe that is the whole point of it. The place was uncluttered and could use an updating but all in all clean from my side.
The pizza was good, and the salad bar, though the variety was few, I thought it was good. The place is huge though, and the price is real good cause it includes the drink.
The Ugly: Man I hate these, the ugly that are disguised, I went into Pizza Hut and expected good pizza, after all I use to eat at the one on Mooney Blvd, like all the time as a teenager. So I bop in, sit down, situate, and ready myself for the mission at hand. The restaurant was super clean and decorated really cute with a mural on the wall. I knew I was in for a treat.
I hate being wrong, what kid of trickery was this. I always come in at the beginning of buffet time when there is a lot of people and the pizzas are constantly being changed out, for freshness reasons. The pizzas looked alot like the frozen variety you buy at the store. I had hoped that it would be different. I wasn't bad like frozen, but certainly not good like restaurant, which was odd, again no variety there was a veg, a peperoni, and a meat. No specialties, like hey try this one you may want to order it for dinner this weekend. The salad bar was also nothing to get excited about. The breadsticks and cinnasticks.... sad, they were just cut up pieces of crust with seasoning sprinkled lightly on top of them, not pleasing to the eye or the taste buds. So disappointing, and also proves that corporate rules and guidelines don't make for good food for sure.
So there you have it a small sampling of pizza buffets, what's your favorite and why, which ones do you hate. Just keep it clean, this is a family channel... Comments will be moderated in the sense of, if it is not appropriate for a everyone then I just can't put it on...sorry
I should start off with I loooooove pizza, like I really love pizza. Now I am not a fan of New York Style, I love the cheese, and misc confetti of random toppings slapped together to make a special treat that requires no dishes to wash, really how can you go wrong with that.... I ask you... how?
So Pizza Buffets, you can imagine is mmm mmm good in my eyes, cause you can have as much as you want, and for me that works great. I am a bit of a gluten. My favorite part about pizza buffet is you get salad, and there is no fighting over what pizza to get. So this is a two-fer because it is really important to know about the good, the okay, and the ugly.
The Good: Round Table Pizza
I have been to a couple of them in the valley just to make sure... And let me tell you their pizza is so good, they kick all the kinds of pizza, not just the cheap pizzas, this is where I finally discovered the Maui Zaui, it is a hawaiian style pizza but you can get a choice of sauce. The other sauce choice is a sweet chili sauce (I buy it at the Thai Grocery Store), oh man this is truly good.
It is a good time to try new pizzas and their salad bar is really good, the lettuce is really fresh, and there is so many toppings to choose from, I think I counted 15 or so toppings. I almost forgot about the cheesy breads and cinnamon stick... 2 words Sticky Goodness, by far the best I had ever had, they are that good if they stopped selling the pizza, and served only those I would be super fine with that.
Everything is real nice, the set up at the Mary's Vineyard is a little small but it seems that everyone is real patient about it, and well its worth it. They keep the place real clean no visible signs of grossness, and the customer service has always been really good, and that is pretty hard.
The Mom & Pop: There is a pizza place with a sports theme on Ben Maddox and Douglass kind there is a Git & Go there. I found that the pizza there was okay, Pepperoni seemed to be the theme of the day, which I am not saying thats bad, a good pepperoni is fine with me, but at a buffet I expect variety. I believe that is the whole point of it. The place was uncluttered and could use an updating but all in all clean from my side.
The pizza was good, and the salad bar, though the variety was few, I thought it was good. The place is huge though, and the price is real good cause it includes the drink.
The Ugly: Man I hate these, the ugly that are disguised, I went into Pizza Hut and expected good pizza, after all I use to eat at the one on Mooney Blvd, like all the time as a teenager. So I bop in, sit down, situate, and ready myself for the mission at hand. The restaurant was super clean and decorated really cute with a mural on the wall. I knew I was in for a treat.
I hate being wrong, what kid of trickery was this. I always come in at the beginning of buffet time when there is a lot of people and the pizzas are constantly being changed out, for freshness reasons. The pizzas looked alot like the frozen variety you buy at the store. I had hoped that it would be different. I wasn't bad like frozen, but certainly not good like restaurant, which was odd, again no variety there was a veg, a peperoni, and a meat. No specialties, like hey try this one you may want to order it for dinner this weekend. The salad bar was also nothing to get excited about. The breadsticks and cinnasticks.... sad, they were just cut up pieces of crust with seasoning sprinkled lightly on top of them, not pleasing to the eye or the taste buds. So disappointing, and also proves that corporate rules and guidelines don't make for good food for sure.
So there you have it a small sampling of pizza buffets, what's your favorite and why, which ones do you hate. Just keep it clean, this is a family channel... Comments will be moderated in the sense of, if it is not appropriate for a everyone then I just can't put it on...sorry
Monday, November 3, 2008
The Corner Cafe
There's nothing a-typical about the setup a row of counter space filled with random fella's looking more like the local dairymen, the booths are at the perimeter with mini booths squeezed up the center. Apple decor trimmed the windows, tables, and edgings, pretty much everywhere, though it changes with the season or holiday.
The decor is country, the food is country, the clientele... is a wide array of citizens. From cowboy hats and senior citizens to tattooed and pierced, and everything in between. It's a have a seat anywhere kind of place, so you do, and one of the waitress' follow you ours was Tenille who by the way is hilarious, as with all of them the owners are right there on spot chatting, laughing, and working right along with everyone else.
So I order the special cause I like special things... It was an scramble with jack cheese, and red onions with country potatoes, biscuits & gravy, and coffee, you know stay with the theme.
It was busy in fact it is always busy... so this is not really a shocker. It didn't seem like it was too long before the food arrived, mmmm it smelled like cheesy goodness, the eggs was perfectly cooked, no brownness or crustyness. The red onions were so bright and fred, not too much cheese but enough to leave a nice layer of white on top. When I scooped up the eggs there was a stringy and wow I was impressed, this is super good you can actually taste the cheese and the onions were sweetish which was nice contrast with the eggs and cheese.
Now I am funny about country potatoes because my grandmother was from Booneville Kentucky and made the best potatoes ever. I really hate when you order country potatoes and you get those little square things as if you ordered them from Burger King or something and they spray painted them tan. Now these were real potatoes with onions, and other little goodies mixed all over, WOW they were so good, I mean really good. perfectly seasoned not lacking salt. The potatoes were tender perfect not mushy. The biscuits were soft, flaky, very airy, and hot.... mmmmm
Anyhow this is my review of The Corner Cafe, my advice go there 2 thumbs up for sure. I will eat there a hundred times over.
The Corner Cafe is located at 1718 E Mineral King Ave, Visalia, CA.
The decor is country, the food is country, the clientele... is a wide array of citizens. From cowboy hats and senior citizens to tattooed and pierced, and everything in between. It's a have a seat anywhere kind of place, so you do, and one of the waitress' follow you ours was Tenille who by the way is hilarious, as with all of them the owners are right there on spot chatting, laughing, and working right along with everyone else.
So I order the special cause I like special things... It was an scramble with jack cheese, and red onions with country potatoes, biscuits & gravy, and coffee, you know stay with the theme.
It was busy in fact it is always busy... so this is not really a shocker. It didn't seem like it was too long before the food arrived, mmmm it smelled like cheesy goodness, the eggs was perfectly cooked, no brownness or crustyness. The red onions were so bright and fred, not too much cheese but enough to leave a nice layer of white on top. When I scooped up the eggs there was a stringy and wow I was impressed, this is super good you can actually taste the cheese and the onions were sweetish which was nice contrast with the eggs and cheese.
Now I am funny about country potatoes because my grandmother was from Booneville Kentucky and made the best potatoes ever. I really hate when you order country potatoes and you get those little square things as if you ordered them from Burger King or something and they spray painted them tan. Now these were real potatoes with onions, and other little goodies mixed all over, WOW they were so good, I mean really good. perfectly seasoned not lacking salt. The potatoes were tender perfect not mushy. The biscuits were soft, flaky, very airy, and hot.... mmmmm
Anyhow this is my review of The Corner Cafe, my advice go there 2 thumbs up for sure. I will eat there a hundred times over.
The Corner Cafe is located at 1718 E Mineral King Ave, Visalia, CA.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Wednesday discussion: homemade gifts for men
Ahhhh the holidays are coming... red alert, red alert...
Well I have decided to make gifts this year, which can be scary. I mean you don't really want to go through all the trouble to make something just to get that look on the face of "oh, wow thanks" we want "OH WOW! THANKS" and "how cool" etc. You know what I mean, yes it is a nice stroke to the ego, but you don't want to give someone something that they can't use or don't like; make them feel like they have to love it, or set it somewhere in there house.
So lets vow today to help each other out. So I thought we would start out with something tough get it out of the way. Men, they work hard, they love us, and we love them, we just want them to be happy so whatever it is must have some guidelines much the same when buying...
For the car enthusiast I am thinking of wheel covers they sell them in the store but if you make it with canvas and cover that canvas in a team fabric...
these patterns are all over the Internet and for free so look around
anyhoo let me know what you think and also post your own thoughts
Well I have decided to make gifts this year, which can be scary. I mean you don't really want to go through all the trouble to make something just to get that look on the face of "oh, wow thanks" we want "OH WOW! THANKS" and "how cool" etc. You know what I mean, yes it is a nice stroke to the ego, but you don't want to give someone something that they can't use or don't like; make them feel like they have to love it, or set it somewhere in there house.
So lets vow today to help each other out. So I thought we would start out with something tough get it out of the way. Men, they work hard, they love us, and we love them, we just want them to be happy so whatever it is must have some guidelines much the same when buying...
1. Useful; most men are not knick-knack kind of guys, make sure it is something that they could useI am thinking of of a gift givee' who tinkers in the garage, so I am thinking a bucket tool organizer so I will be looking for a pattern for that.
2. Tailored to that particular man
ie: I know I won't give my dad a tool caddy because he thinks an "allen wrench" is a tool that belongs to someone named allen.
3. Themed; race, sports, TV shows, or movie fans; use this to your advantage
For the car enthusiast I am thinking of wheel covers they sell them in the store but if you make it with canvas and cover that canvas in a team fabric...
these patterns are all over the Internet and for free so look around
anyhoo let me know what you think and also post your own thoughts
Monday, October 27, 2008
Hospital Food Short and sweet
Well this edition comes to you after a stint in the hospital, I think generally the local hospital gets a bad rep for food because your sick, by the time it gets to you it has been in a little red plastic dome for at least an hour, and eating in bed may sound good but really it is a pain in the butt.
But I have eaten in the cafeteria, and a few years ago they changed it around and it's not bad, they try and make it look like a bistro and they will have special Taco Salad bars, but the food is fresh and if you want something special the staff is kind of good about helping you out. I like the salad bar the best and they have pretty good clam chowder too.
But I have eaten in the cafeteria, and a few years ago they changed it around and it's not bad, they try and make it look like a bistro and they will have special Taco Salad bars, but the food is fresh and if you want something special the staff is kind of good about helping you out. I like the salad bar the best and they have pretty good clam chowder too.
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