I Was Just thinking....

Relax..At Great Clips! Huh?

2012-02-28T23:25:00.000-08:00

On a quick trip to Great Clips I saw their slogan on the wall, which seemed to be new since the last time we were there. It reads "Relax..You're at Great Clips". As my head tilted to the side in wonder I couldn't help but think that is the LAST verb I would use for my experience at Great Clips. Now here's a little disclaimer to this post.. the hair dressers at Great Clips..they are always REALLY nice but if I remember right so was Edward Scissor Hands.
Moving on, and moving passed the nice grins back to the slogan on the wall, I had to laugh as we rushed in to squeeze the boys hair cuts into our crammed day, knowing we could be in and out with no intention to "relax". The second you sit in the chair the hopeful bit if any of actual "relaxation" is immediately turned into anxiety as memories of the previous hair cut that caused the children at school to wonder who the new kid was, comes with severe flashbacks. It's too late though you are strapped in. My one son cries foul when he gets the same lady he had last time, but there's no turning back for him. My other son lucked out with the new Male hairdresser that understands "the sporty look" only to realize later the back of his hair has a thick clump left over. I sit down to "relax" and about 5 pages into my In Style Magazine I hear the man hairdresser say "MOM"? which I knew he was referring to me, but it felt awkward and strange coming from him. That's when I get to inspect the hair-do as if I could really change any scissor happiness at this point, but inspections are necessary and relaxation is far from present in the room at the moment for either party. Even if it looks terrible I can't really say "OH MY GOSH, It looks TERRIBLE!!!" Imagine the kid in that situation who gets to head back to school the next day, a school that allows no hats at anytime. It's the hate if fake it scenario for all parties. Thankfully, one of two cuts down and we're doing good so far.. and then I hear from older son "Mom, why does he have such a serious look on his face?" referring to my other son still strapped in the chair. Now no head looks good with that tight smock snuggled around the neck. I think it's the only way to make the person as closely resemble the practice head they use in beauty school. He did look concerned though and for good reason, and definitely NOT relaxed. "MOM, you come see" said the beautiful NICE Asian hairdresser. My hate it and fake it came out in full swing as I see my new relaxed child. Sigh..(poor guy).. nothing that a little gel can't fix. In the car he says "Why did I have to get the Asian lady again.. she likes to cut my bangs straight across... just because she likes her bangs that way doesn't mean I like mine that way... gosh!" I encouraged him with the gel solution. If I were in charge of slogans mine would say "Great Clips, It's Cheap you Suckers!" If those coupons weren't so enticing!! I've tried to cut their hair before and it normally goes ok, but it takes hours! Of course my husband will never forget the moment I was cutting his hair with the shaver without a protective attachment, using a comb only and I suddenly felt scalp. "Oh Oh" is not something he wanted to hear but thankfully a little black shoe polish for a few weeks covered up the 2 inch wide bald spot.

Food Carts Make Me Happy

2012-02-27T09:07:00.002-08:00

Food Cart Tour
32nd Division Portland

If you haven't heard yet, but probably have... Portland is famous for the number of food carts in the city. When I was first married my husband would go to a taco truck nearby and the thought of that made me queasy back then. I don't know if it was "worry about everything" syndrome, or the idea that how could someone actually cook in a cart and wash their hands? But after numerous experiences of these restaurants on wheels, I have never gotten sick and have always been delighted with the food. Two years ago on an errand downtown I found my new favorite Mexican Food Truck and the best Taco I have ever had, and thus the beginning of my freedom to try any food cart. We've spent alot of time at the Hawthorne street corner on 12th where it's open late and serves a variety of choices. My favorites of course being the Frenchy Fry Cart called "Potato Champian" which always has a line, but worth the wait, and the crepe place Perierra Crêperie that you will also wait in line for but again, worth the wait. A lot of these places only take cash so be ready for that, but some will take credit or have and ATM on site. These are great places to take kids to try new things too and it's pretty reasonable.

KOI Fusion Tacos!!! HELLO BLISS!

Our recent diversion from our original destination took us to SE Division street where we tried a couple new places and had heard about this great food called KOI Fusion which mixes Korean with Mexican. I yelped when I saw that KOI Fusion was located here and even more excited when I saw the $2/taco price. I just found my new favorite taco place as the flavors in this KoreaTaco are amazingly scrumptious. It has such a sweet taste to it which complimented the pulled ribs and chicken flavors. Koi Fusion has the original truck and also added two Kiosk locations in SW 2nd Yamill, and also in Tigard at Bridgeport!

For dessert we just had to go to the Pie Spot which also wins the cutest trailer award! The Pie Spot served these cute individual served pies that cost $3.50. I had this delicious Pecan Caramel and my husband chose the Marian berry which were both equally tasty in their own rights but I think I won this round. The crust was really perfectly tasty and textured. It looked like there other trailers and trucks that we'd like to try, although I'm always going to leave $2 handy for KOI Fusion! The Division Street and 32nd Carts located right across the popular Pok Pok which we originally were going to try dinner, but the hour long wait was not something we wanted to do and the wood stove burning fire and lovely white accent lights made the Food Cart area very inviting. After sitting in the fire pit area eating out fabulous food we were freezing out of minds because about 10 bodies were crowed around the flames, our bodies not being any of them. The only thing I will give of a final tip is to BYOTB!! Yeah that means Bring Your Own Trash Bag, because we couldn't find one on the property that night, oh wait we found one but there was clear signage that read "THIS CAN ONLY FOR (blah blah) FOOD CART!!!! Which scared us enough to turn the other way and carry our trash home.

Cute Trailer Award!!

Cute Customer Award!!

BYOTB

Add your own comments on your favorite Food Carts in Portland So I can go check them out! I'm not a big fishy person so keep it real.

The Jog Blog Chronicals -Not a Good Day People

2012-02-24T14:53:00.002-08:00

Not A Good Day People...

Feel Free to leave comments and offerings of good will in the comment section.

This jogging (or at this stage of the game perhaps Wogging) is going to be long journey..

My Other Jog Blog Video Post

Taco Bell Dorito Taco Coming March 8th!! GET IN THE VAN!!!

2012-02-24T10:00:00.001-08:00

Add caption

Taco Bell Dorito Taco COMING March 8th, 2012

Are you kidding me?? I cought my breath today when watching the Today Show and it was revealed that Taco Bell is launching the new Dorito Taco March 8th!! Merging my weak moment splurges feels like the moment in my life where ice cream was married to raw cookie dough. On a non food level some of you remember when in grade school we fell in love with Joanie and Chachi on Happy Days they had their first kiss and then got MARRIED!! But the most exciting news of that union was we all found out the network was giving us a whole show called Joanie love Chachi!! breathe... ok here's a little gift for J&C lovers... let the melting begin.

Well the only thing that I was a bit deflated about was Today Show's Donnie Deutsch saying this brand was marketed for young guys and young boys who don't care... wait a minute here pal.. there are women who secretly, and maybe not so secretly, who don't care either! He apparently did not read that I just took one for the "team" a few weeks ago and tried Taco Bells' Crunchy Beef Burrito, survived, AND blogged about it.. so there. Perhaps I represent the curios 2% of women out there who are not afraid to try the "guy food" but I beg to argue that there are more childless minivans out there that will pull in on March 8th, even if it's after the family is tucked in bed and you have to drive 15 more miles to find the 24 hour Taco Bell. I figure it's all in moderation so don't be afraid, however, I have witnessed first hand that a some people (who I won't mention but I have a blog about him) have built up an intolerance to such food products and severely pay for the reappearance into the digestive system. So word to the wise, if you are one of these people.. don't start with ANY of the burrito choices.. that will mess you up.. start with the soft taco.. even the name sounds nice. Try one this week and maybe the next and then on March 8th you'll be ready!!

Took One For The Team-Crunchy Beef Burrito

It's Doesn't Matter -Jogging Video Chronicle

2012-02-22T13:58:00.000-08:00

Jogging Video Chronicles

"Pain Face" I hate Jogging It hurts

It doesn’t matter that I am in severe pain right now after my jog. Nor does it matter that I’m still in pain from last Monday’s jog. It doesn’t matter that the whole way I’m thinking about how I’m getting further away from home and how I hate jogging and just want to be home. Wondering if my rear looks as bad as it feels right now trotting down the street, wearing black helps, a hat helps to disguise the ugly pain face. I dream of looking presentable in shorts and swimsuits.. this keeps me going nothing else.. ok maybe getting into a cuter pair of jeans. I feel shallow..so what.. I feel more shallow when I feel terrible about how tight my jeans feel. It doesn’t matter that I don’t’ get whistled at anymore on the streets, perhaps I should change my route to go past the auto parts store or constructions site if history is any guide. Actually, with spring coming the outdoor lawn care companies may provide the much needed ego whistles, not that it matters. It doesn’t matter that I run past the school zone sign thinking I’m going 20 realizing that’s the car coming behind me.. it passes.. and I get clocked at 6mph. It doesn’t matter that I jog for the wrong reasons sometimes, for instance jogging so I can eat a hamburger and then blog about that hamburger. It doesn’t matter that the only thing fun about my jog today was that I started videoing parts of it and thinking about my jog blogging. And it really doesn’t matter that husband wasn’t home when I huff and puffed around the corner but came home 5 minutes later when I was sitting at the computer….shame on my timing. What really matters is I got out there and put the miles in especially after eating too many chips yesterday which I thought didn’t matter at the time, but we all know. The best part was telling my husband how I jogged the first mile, walked half of 2, jogged the other, walked half, jogged the other, jogged the next and walked the next half only to walk the last. His surprised and confused look overtook his face and my wittiness overtook my ability to keep a straight face as he asked “how many miles did you go!!?” “it doesn’t matter”.

Confession #1

Confession #2

Shoot Hubs is not home to see me!

Feel free to leave comments below...

DickieJo's Burgers New In Tualatin Oregon

2012-02-20T08:57:00.000-08:00

DickieJo's Burgers
Tulatin, Oregon

DickieJoe's Burgers Tualatin

Well I guess it's hamburger week as we checked out one more new place closer to home tonight Dickie Jo's Burgers. Knowing we were eating there for dinner I decided to head up to the track and run 3 miles. Today I'm in pain but it was worth it for the new experience. I am not going to lie any company with the name D--k in it I really try to avoid. I just feel like there are so many better options of name choosing why would anyone not go by Richard. RichieJo's Burgers would have sounded just fine and the food wouldn't have changed and I would have had clean thoughts every time I ate there. Just like the big box sporting store down the street.. why not call it Rich's Sporting Goods.. Or Richards Auto Supply. But no all those stores have to have the big blocked letters out there screaming inappropriateness. I know that is very "junior high" of me but I also still like roller skating and turn red and giggle when someones zipper is down. Thankfully, I noticed on their website address it's shortened to DJ's which I can do.
Back to DickieJo's.. The place opened 6 days ago, and Sunday night was packed with a line out the door. The line moved pretty quick as it's the type of place you choose what you want and then go find your seat. The first thing is I notice they offer quite a few things on their menu like corn dogs, chili dogs, chicken strips with a Ritz cracker crust (explaining the Ritz cracker box display) and a section of the store is dedicated just to making malts, shakes and ice cream delights! A 50's diner theme having an eating counter, lots of red and white, checkered floor and a buzzing atmosphere of of burger excitement.

Basic Burger comes with hamburger, tomato, onion and their "secret sauce" and each additional item like cheese, mushrooms etc. is .49c. The fry basket was good size and very splittable amongst two adults or in our case one adult and two hungry boys. You know from my last hamburger posting the fries are very important for me, so I couldn't wait to try them.

The burger was very down home simple but very tasty, the kind you would expect when you want to take your kid out or maybe high schoolers on a first date, the kind you crave when you think "All I want is a cheeseburger, fries and a milkshake" that kind of burger. The fries passed my "excellent fries" test and we had no problem finishing and fighting for the last one. They serve them with a nice tasty fry sauce too. The service on this night was great! Very friendly people after 6 days of a learning curve and a busy place.
We left DickieJos pretty happy and really excited to come back soon. We didn't have that uncomfortable full feeling I get after some burgers where it feels like a rock is planted in your stomach and the guilt and shame creeps in. Instead we left feeling really satisfied and wanting more. I'm not really going to call this a chain just yet because this seems to be only the 3rd store, however that is a little confusing by the 1952 sign and the original DickieJo's owners in Ohio. But for now it will stay in my restaurant reviews of smaller non big chain reviews. I can just picture our family on bikes this summer, maybe ringing the bike bell, riding down to DickieJoe's, slapping on some jukebox music and enjoying a nice malt, hamburger and fries. Maybe I'll even wear my poodle skirt for fun.

Leave your comments on your experience at DickieJo's!

Little Big Burger

2012-02-18T15:05:00.000-08:00

Little Big Burger
122 Northwest 10th Avenue, Portland, OR 97209
(503) 274-9008 ‎
Restaurant Review

I was given the recommendation to try out The Pearl District's location Little Big Burger in Portland Oregon from the owner of Miss Hannah's Gourmet Popcorn. Burgers must be the new Yogurt shop because these place are popping up left and right. French Fries, being high on my list of splurge cravings, are a must consideration when choosing a hamburger place. We got there right opening lunch so the cooks were just firing up the grill. It must get busy because about 5 cooks appear out of the back room once it opened. Friendly girl at the counter welcomes us as we take a look at the simple and reasonably priced menu, love those kind. The restaurant is crisp and clean, plenty of seating and even a place to sit at the counter, which I always like as it makes me feel like I'm in an episode of "Happy Days" minus the Fonz.
We step up to the counter and my husband says "I'll try your veggie burger" which my head did a spin knowing he was just about to break the rules of our first visit. He apparently did not read the fine lines of tasting adventures 101 article 14 that reads :Participants must AT ALL TIMES order the main menu item that the establishment is known for, on the second visit you may stray from the menu to more unique items. THANKFULLY, I was there and not using the restroom or something, and I quickly corrected his behavior as he realized his technical foul. There is disclaimer on the menu that all burgers are cooked to medium which means they have a little pink in the middle. I quickly ordered medium well, which I'm really grateful I did after seeing my husband's medium pink burger. We both ordered the Cheeseburger and shared the small order of fries which was actually a huge order of fries spilling out in the bag. I love it when I think we are done with the fries only to find a few more hiding in the bag under the napkins.. that is a close second to finding a $20 bill in my pants pocket.

Carefully Eating Very Small Cut Fry

Diving in, there is an instant awareness of some interesting yet good spices which I can't put my finger on but like. The burgers are just little bigger than a slider but pretty filling when you add the fries, at least for me, my husband felt this was lunch #1. The fries although tasty, were a little bit awkwardly sized. We came to realize that personally we like a long thin squared fry and these were all cut to about 2 inches at best. There are some serious close calls of biting the finger when one is eating a 2 inch french fry. Adding just few more inches on that cut would have been less stressful, nevertheless whatever oil they fried them in made them go down pretty nicely. In the end would I go back to Little Big Burger (and small 1 inch fry land)? I think I would if in the area. I definitely do not think I would make a special trip there, however, considering the competition around town. But if you are in one of the 4 locations and want a reasonable good priced lunch or dinner or 2nd lunch or 2nd dinner I would give my thumbs up to Little Big Burger.

My Night With the Grammy's

2012-02-13T10:01:00.000-08:00

Grammy’s 2012

Wow what a great night of music entertainment at the 2012 Grammy’s. I absolutely loved how classy this show was even though they failed to have my favorite duo the Civil Wars sing for more than 60 seconds.. someone needs to be fired in production. LL Cool J opening with prayer was interesting, as the camera panned the audience where many were bowed in reverence others blatantly looking around with their chins held high as to say “no way am I going to get caught bowing”. Needless to say, God only knows the true heart and we can pray with our eyes open, but I still couldn’t get the flashback of 1987 during LL praying as the lyrics from his album “Bigger and Deffer” came rushing back and the picture of my mom’s face when she found lyrics I copied on a sheet of paper from his Album. I’m sure she was ready to get the suitcase and send me to live with nuns for the rest of my high school after reading those, but thankfully I got to stay but LL had to go.

"The Non Nominee"

The first thing I noticed at the Grammy’s was the hair! From Katy Perry to Alecia Keys, Bonnie Rait’s grey swoop in the middle (which I know is signature) to the sweaty hair pile outside at the Foo Fighter concert, it was all about the hair for a while. I don’t even know what Lady Gaga’s hair looked like because she was pinned behind some cage like contraption that looked like she just got pried out from jaws of life and the crow bar through her shoulder that was keeping her from snapping.. all while carrying a scepter. Ok then! How much did I love that Adel beat Gaga in the Best Pop Solo and Album category!

A few highlights for me were Tony Bennet's and Carrie Underwoods' duet of "It Had To Be Me" although I could have done without the "Thank you Mr. Bennett" in Carrie's baby voice at the end, as if Tony just showed up from the care home and she was the highlight, it was Tony as the highlight in that duo in my opinion. The other noticable highlight was when Bon Iver thanked all the people that would never get a chance to be on that stage "the non nominees" that are singer/songwriters but will never be there.. I kind of felt part of that group for a moment as tears came to my eyes and I had to take a pill.. thanks for that Iver.

Taylor Swift comes out in rags with her hobo friends and banjo singing her song “Mean”, which I was so thankful she sounded great live, finally. I have heard her on these shows before and either nerves or a bad ear piece normally creates for a end of the song “oh poor girl” comment. THIS time however, she got a standing O, which she seemed very shocked by, and one that didn’t come with the ending of Katy Perry’s strange space age routine other than the 40 people crammed in the mosh pit, that HAD to stand the whole time. Could the music scene be getting tired of smut? I don’t know maybe the night was just “Houstinfied” and the prayer helped to get things started off in the right spirit. I'm choosing to block out the horror of Nicki Minaj ending song..I mean rap.. I mean oh.. who knows what that was. Her and Gaga just need to cat fight it out.

Adel’s performance was stunning and graceful. I have never seen her perform in human form only have seen her on the front of the CD cover 21 which I own. The very first time I heard the lyrics I felt really sorry for this woman! But to see her strength and beauty doing a performance after throat surgery was quite memorable.   I know that the British accent, to most of us, oozes instant classiness but Adele owned it in her words unlike some other Brits we’ve seen lately.   In the end she gets the Best Artist Award and her graciousness and snot flying crying was just great.    I’m a new fan, even though I’m currently writing a parody of “Rolling in the Deep”.

Finally, the most memorable moment of this year’s Grammy’s for me, and will always be, was when Jennifer Hudson took the stage. I hadn’t heard she was going to sing Whitney’s song “I Will Always Love You” and as I heard the intro and saw her I was thinking “wow that is gutsy” considering the legacy Whitney left.   Jennifer nailed it! I was impressed by her own rendition of the song and her actually "holding it together" for such an emotional moment. I was doing the fanning of my eyes and would have COMPLETLEY lost it if Jenn would have taken it the next octave but she stayed in the mellow register as if to leave that octave to the one an only.   So many Whitney songs come to mind when remembering her but I always go back to the 1987 song “All at Once” which was dedicated to the boy I liked that didn’t like me but liked the other girl who introduced me to the Whitney song.. such a small world.   I still remember sitting in the bleachers, we were playing basketball at Parkrose High School, I had my yellow walkman with my cassette tape of Whitney piping in my ears, as I glared at her and thought of love lost and how he was in someone else’s arms just like Whitney was saying! I mean How will I know if he really loves me, I believe children are our future.. I just wanna dance with somebody!
Here’s a short list of the winner/s good thing for the dance album category that Adele didn’t bust a move on “Rolling in the Deep”.

As for me I’m going to start working on my Grammy for 2013 in the “Best Mexican Or Tejano Album!
adios!

Record of the Year – “Rolling In The Deep” Adele
Album of the Year- “21” Adele
Song of The Year – “Rolling In the Deep” Adele
Best New Artist- Bon Iver
Best Pop Solo - “Someone Like You” Adele
Best Pop Album- “21” Adele
Best Rock Performance Foo Fighters
Best Rock Song “Walk” Foo Fighters
Best Rock Album “Wasting Light” Foo Fighters
Best Country Duo/Perf “Barton Hallow” The Civil Wars J
Best Contemporary Christian Album – “And If our God is With Us” Chris Thomlin
Best Contemporary Christian Song - “Blessings” Laura Story
For more listings go to http://www.grammy.com/nominees

The Place To Be Cafe

2012-02-08T08:58:00.000-08:00

I along with fellow artist Dave Gauthier will be performing this Friday Night at The Place To Be Cafe in Canby Oregon.

Show time 6-8p

There is great food and coffee and other beverages to enjoy.

The Place to Be is a great hang out spot especially on a rainy Friday night. So come on out with your friends, play board games and listen to some of my songs as well as main stream music you will recognize.

The Place to Be Canby
190 NW 2nd

2012-02-01T11:27:00.000-08:00

The 45 Cycling Uniforms Must Go!

Today marked a monumental day in the history of our marriage.

photo by Loren Javier

There was a day when we were first dating where I heard a pebble hit my window. Like any love struck twenty something that moment lead to numerous flashbacks of movie scenes, could it really be? The boy outside waiting for the curtain to swing open revealing his true love perched at the upstairs window, only by share of the $475/month rent did not give me an upstairs window that flew romantically open rather a metal single framed slider window that stuck. Regardless as I ran to my window swung open the curtains awaiting the song or poem defining our true love, I wiped the condensation off the window to see a figure dressed like Tron. I knew of this Tron character thanks to the many hours in the arcade 10 years earlier. He didn't realize he was dressed like Tron he just was out for his normal bike ride donned in his cycling outfit! Well this Tron like behavior has continued to be very prevalent in our marriage. Thankfully, this is what he uses to de-stress from work, my cooking flops, and being blogged about (click here to finish story)

Chinese Food Night General Tso's Chicken and Fried Rice

2012-01-31T16:18:00.000-08:00

I must say I have had an excellent week of cooking. I never thought I would hear the sweet savory words "mom you are a really good cook"! Glory be! I took a few recipes off my Pinterest "foods to try" board and another one from a couple spice packages on a BOGO sale. My family loves Chinese food or any Asian food for that matter, so finding a way to make Asian food at home and making it taste good is quite an accomplishment! To top that off it was a fairly inexpensive meal.

General Tso's Chicken

1/2 Package of Chicken Tenders
General Tso's Seasoning Package prepared as listed on the back.

Before adding the sauce I cut up the pieces of chicken while partly frozen! What this did for me was #1 it made the chicken less gross and slimy to handle and #2 it was easier to cut into the sizes I wanted, rather than wrestling with slimy soft chicken with sick visible blood veins exposed.

Courtney's General So's Chicken

Home Made Fried Rice-SO EASY!!!

Now I know people with Asian roots will have far better rice ideas but they were not in my kitchen at the moment I was cooking this dish so it is what it is. I always like to quickly google recipes and although I don't always have all the ingredients, I can come pretty close to making a decent dish if I have at least 3/4 of the items. On this night before I had realizing I had ran out of the seasoning package for fried rice I had to scramble for other ingredients which thankfully I had thanks to my wild hair of making Lettuce Wraps over the holidays which also were a huge hit!

Prepare A lot of white Rice- Set aside
1-3 scrambled eggs
mixed bag frozen vegetables (carrots, peas, corn, whatever)
1 Tbsp Soy Sauce
Salt & Pepper to taste
Tbsp Hoisen sauce ( this and the Oyster sauce are optional, I just tried it and it gave it an extra different kick!
1 Tsp Oyster Sauce

So basically you Scramble the eggs in the pan, add the white rice, add a little dab of oil, add the vegetables that you had previously thawed and partially cooked even, then add all the other ingredients and mix it up and stir fry for a little while.

So there you go! I sometimes add a package of Trader Joe's Spring Rolls which are delicious as well and a nice side dish.

Hubs Goes To Sally's

2012-01-27T09:01:00.000-08:00

Most women would be pretty ticked if their hubs came home and said "I just got back from Sally's" but we ladies know what that means. If there is any concern it is for other reasons that he may be hanging at Sally's... Beauty Supply. Tonight I knew he would enter into a world unknown to most men and I couldn't wait to hear any news of his experience. My hubs starts sweating the minute I might ask him to hold my purse and then comes the uncomfortable way he holds it away from his body, as if to scream "This purse is not in any way in close proximity to my manly body!"

Due to schedule conflicts he needed to take our daughter to get a Birthday gift for her friend at Sally Beauty Supply. This is a store that women, and I'm sure some men not to leave you out, go for their beauty needs and accessories. One quickly realizes that their hairdressers and manicurists have got it going on! Here the same products and secrets used by everyday salons are revealed and sold at affordable prices! A place Hubs would never even know existed, which he didn't.

Now a guy like Hubs, standing alone in the isle, is bait for the helpful 24 year old beauty school dropout...
(click here to finish store)

Some Say We Look Alike

2012-01-24T23:27:00.000-08:00

While sending off a school picture of my son to my older sister the other day, she immediately wrote back saying "OH MY GOSH, that TOTALLY reminds me of YOU when you were in 5th grade! I guess I always thought our middle son looked more like my husband so I took a double take.

I remember the day I realized I looked more like my dad than my mom. My mom, the petite 5'3 frame and Miss Merry Christmas 1958 APPARENTLY gave her genes to my older sisters who by age 13 was towering over and nearly approaching my Dad's height and thus was the go to girl for reaching high things in the kitchen! In fact just the other day a random person used my height to check a price for her which I gladly did, but brought back a flood of memories as mom would yell kindly "Tall one.. can you get..."
For some reason when people say to a young girl (or even an older girl in college) "Wow you look just like your Dad!" it just doesn't sit in a perfect place internally, as I gazed into the lighted make-up mirror and applied yet another shade of lipstick and caked on eyeshadow. One day at about age 16 the unthinkable happened as I was browsing through pictures of my dad from his high school year book. There in the back row of the black and white football picture stood my dad wearing number 10 on his jersey, squinting in the sun, about my age, and an EXACT copy of my face only without makeup! Oh I see what's going on... the truth was right there. I realized in fact without my makeup and hair, I looked like a man.. or maybe HE looked like a woman with a buzz cut and no make-up in a football uniform? Thank heavens the days were gone when they pinned a woman as handsome! Good grief did I dodge an era or what!
My curiosity was hot with finding my 5th grade picture to set it side by side with my son's photo. I had to laugh at the resemblance, and my feathered hair. I called him in the room and said "hey look that's me in fifth grade!" His brother started to laugh as he saw the resemblance. My look a like son played it cool, but I could tell he was just a bit mortified to be compared to a girl.

Took One For The Team-Crunchy Beefy Burritto

2012-01-17T16:08:00.000-08:00

Today I decided the boys might like it if I picked them up from school, and brought them each a Crunchy Taco. How convenient for me to think that because I was kind of hungry myself, and driving past the "border". Lucky for me my car turned right in! What I didn't know at the time was how I was going to fall right into the trap of good advertising and order the $.99 Crunchy Beeffy Burrito! I am one of those people who like to get the same thing each time I go to Taco Bell and is tried and true. The picture showed rice, meat, melty cheese and spicy hot FRITOS!! what the heck? This was totally invented by that person who puts potato chips in their burger. I imagine my female readers are saying.. "NO YOU DIDN'T.. remember your resolution, remember pinky swearing that we would not do this again in 2012, remember back in college when all you ate were Chillitos and you rolled home.. "PLEASE STOP!" Well sorry dears.. blame the snow today or me feeling crazy I just had to try. I ~~never~~ ~~rarely~~ sometimes get in the mood for a good fast food snack, but I try ~~very hard~~ to not to frequent them too often. But sometimes that occasional Meximelt just screams "let me out of here" as I pass by Taco Bell on my route home, anyone one out there hear similar callings. This is why it is not safe for me to carry loose dollar bills in my purse. Actually, the Meximelt is really the biggest rip-off on the menu next to the Mexipizza as you get this tiny little soft shell with a little bit of meet and cheese. I even have them leave the salsa off, and for some reason the Meximelt soft tortilla they use is $.69 more than the Soft taco's tortilla and $.30 cents more than the soft taco supreme! You can't tell me that salsa is more expensive than sour cream, and besides the Soft Taco Supreme also comes with lettuce and the Meximelt does NOT! So I'm thinking that special seasoning in the cheese that makes the Meximelt so delicious is worth that extra $.69, who knows and now we are just splitting hairs or even more appropriate splitting pan...never mind I won't say it.

I ordered the boys tacos and then excitedly hollard over my rattling '01 Dodge moter "AND ONE CRUNCHY BEEFY BURRITTO" and right then I was committed. On first glace, all looks pretty similar to a regular burrito but one bite into the shameful burrito I realize how ridiculous and distracting the Fritos were, not to mention they are hotter than putting 25 Hot Tamales in my mouth at once, and the last time I did that I had wounds in my cheeks for days Holy COW!!! With great pride I did finish it, and made the special delivery surprise to the boys which they were over joyed and one of them even said.. "Hey I was telling someone at school I really want a taco after school!" (wonder where he gets those crazy ideas) again must be the snow. My final star rating for the Crunchy Beefy Burrito is 1 star because an hour later my ribs and stomach are in pain and the inside of my cheeks are just now cooling off.

Hubs goes Hunting!

2012-01-16T18:35:00.000-08:00

So Hubs went on his first hunting trip this last weekend!!! I thought for sure he was going to die either on the road there or by another hunter's shot, so I made sure he contacted our Life insurance agent so things were dialed in before he left. I hate when Hubs is gone, although the kids and I get to stay up really late and eat random meals all weekend which is fun. Hubs got a new bright orange hat and pulled out the old shotgun he inherited from his Dad that has remained in its case and under our bed for 17 years. Not knowing if the shotgun could still shoot a bullet, just knowing its existence in our house was comforting. Truth is, Hubs sleeps through most scary sounds. I am the ears and eyes of the family at night and when there is something to freak out about I whisper in that LOUD whisper "HUBS GET UP, GO CHECK OUT THE SOUND" well for pete's sake when he finally gets up and fumbles around for his glasses the sound is gone. (Whenever he is searching for his glasses in the dark it reminds me of the Scooby Doo episodes where Velma drops her glasses right near the ghost and she is searching frantically for them and FINDS them just in time!! ) To his credit he always finds them and does check out the the things that I hear at night without too

much grumbling. I got a text and picture that Hubs Shot a (click here to read the rest)

CD Now Available using PayPal

2012-01-16T13:17:00.000-08:00

Since switching over my website, I have had to re-think orders, streaming music, and other logistics of running everything through blogger. I solved one issue though:
I added a new friend today "Pay Pal" to my site so that you can now easily order "Between Chapters" online. Still waiting to get things set up on I-Tunes for this Album but it is coming soon too.
Check out the Right Side Bar for the PayPal window. OR if you are in the Portland area you can pick one up Friday February 10th at The Place To Be Cafe' in Canby, show is from 7-9p.

The Shake Face Championships 2011

2012-01-12T22:57:00.000-08:00

The Shake Face Championships 2011

Meet the Contestants

Contestant #1 has a lack of cheek disadvantage

Contestant #2 seems to have natural abilities right out of the chute!

Contestant #3 with the "someone give me my
meds or else" trick

Contestant #4 appears to be bringing the
"fresh from the dentist" trick

Contestant #2 working the
"give me a bucket"

Honerable Mention goes to contestant #1

3rd Place 2nd Place

And the Grand Prize Winner!!

"Pix" This Place Next Time

2012-01-10T17:02:00.002-08:00

Pix Patisserie
3402 SE Division Portland

What a great alternative to Portland’s “Go To” dessert place which shall remain unnamed, because I love Pix! Two locations in Portland, however we have gone to the Division Street location both times. It’s easy to miss while driving by if you don’t know what you’re looking for the first go around. It's a place I might not recommend to people who love chain restaurant desserts or the hoity toity atmosphere or if they gasp when they see a piercings, (which sometimes I do if there are too many or in awkward places). But if you like eclectic décor in vintage style with a friendly staff Pix is your place. A fun, red tiled countertop and nostalgic candies for sale, makes Pix unique in itself with it's small cozy open seating space. Combine that with its delicious array of choices in the showcase, you will be a quick fan. Smashed in between buildings in Portland’s east side, Pix is definitely a great neighborhood, cozy, non typical "whole in the wall" place, with a fun flair, dessert place. The friendly staff makes you feel they're glad you're there, and just ask them about a dessert and you'll know they actually tried it from the exuberant smile and exclamation of goodness!

Walk in the door and mini dessert heaven greets you from the showcase. Pick your dessert, find a seat, order coffee or whatever you like and settle in for a great adventure in fine dessert eating entertainment. Dessert choices will blow your mind from outstanding displays and formations. The flavor is like nothing else. Shazam was a big hit at our table as well as Opera and Chocolate Royale. I had the repeat offender of Crème Brule which I split last time but decided to go at it alone this time, which although going down was quite memorable I was pretty uncomfortable on the ride home. A reasonable priced choice for a fun night out. This Summer I can't wait to try thier house recipe ice cream! Click on the Picture below to see Pix Patisserie’s dessert choices and put Pix Patisserie on your list to try next time you have a night out on the town.

What Pix Pattisserie Website Says:

Kitschy and cute, Pix Patisserie’s original establishment is known for its bright yellow walls, comfy shoulder-to-shoulder seating, and oh-so smart waiting staff. Enjoy one of our craft beers, a tasty dessert wine or Batdorf & Bronson coffee. This shop also plays host to many of Pix’s special events such as Dessert Dim Sum or Concoct Your Own Dessert night. Opened in January 2003, this dessert boutique hosts a kitchen of talented and hardworking pastry chefs that are the co-creators of our masterpieces and single handedly make Pix Patisserie’s line of ice creams. -Pix Pattisserie

Bertha Takes Me Thrifting!!

2012-01-05T16:42:00.000-08:00

My $12 Down Coat!

Sometimes I never know where exactly my car "Bertha" will take me. She's old, tired, abused, but very loyal and knows the places I like to go. She surprised me today when she pulled in to my FAVORITE thrift, store, The Red White Blue store. I love searching for treasures and a unique piece of clothing or two and getting a great deal! The only thing I dont' like about the RWB thrift store is that they only accept cash and I am not a "cash girl", I'm a debit card user to the core! They do have an ATM on sight but having to pay $1.50 for the fee kind of zaps the joy out of it. After all that $1.50 could go a long way in a store like The Red White and Blue, and since I didn't know Bertha was taking me there I didn't come prepared with cash at all so had to cough up the $1.50 extra. I noticed the parking lot was rather full which was odd to me until I realized it was 1/2 price day which was very exciting until I realized it was for 55 and OLDER! Which is when I realized how thankful I was that I brought my cane and wig with me...no just kidding. I was however tempted to stick a finger in the back of slow walking 90 year old tell her I was loaded and threaten her to be my "Grandma" for the day or else.. but I contained myself. Apparently, Saturday is the day everyone else under 55 get to come and fight for 1/2 priced goods. I found a few great finds like an amazing coat for $12 which if I had that Grandma would have gotten for $6!! After my cart was full of treasures, I pull up to the counter and the checker asks me if I'm here with anyone over 55 which I then turned my head and yelled "GRANDMA HURRY UP"!! When no one came forward that was the end of that charade as I again coughed up the big change. The awkward find of the day was the new, never been burned, Apple Cinnamon candle for $3.00 (really 1.50 if Grandma would have..yah well you know) that still had the Christmas gift tag taped to the bottom, that said:

Merry Christmas
To: Jean

From: The Jones's

Apparently Jean was either not a candle lover, Jewish, afraid of fire, allergic to wax, or really couldn't stand the Jones family to have that kind of return time on a Christmas present. I mean who opens a nice scented candle and takes it right to the thrift store? I could understand if the scent was boiled egg or even cat litter but it was Apple Spice? So odd... I Picked up a few beautiful planters that I may sell on ebay and thanks to Pinterest idea a new wire frame I'm going to turn into a jewelry holder. Here's a few other awesome finds that I passed on purchasing, but couldn't help but document.

I always find it funny what people give away and think others will want to buy. Like the picture of a silhouette of some random kids profile? Who would actually pick that up and say "oh my stars that looks just like Billy's profile..Perfect!"

Looks JUST like Billy tail and all!

I hate reptiles so when I went around the corner and saw this horrific box that stated REPTILE.. I gasped. Thankfully it was empty, of course it was, but my mind wandered for a bit thinking of all the "What IF" scenarios.

And of course this is classic find!!! I found this gem last year in a bin at the Goodwill. I really hope someone doesn't ever hate me or my picture this much to just toss it to the thrift store! Maybe it's the Jones's daughter Kim and Jean tossed it last year just like she did the Apple Spiced candle this year.

Tops of 2011

2011-12-30T18:56:00.000-08:00

Top Mobile Pictures and Fun Things of 2011

(In no particular order)

Best Picture Enjoying a Warm Summer Day!

Not sure how to read this.. Sexy Sinner? Sexy Senior?
Either way they like the 4th meal @ Taco Bell too.

Best Week At The Beach!

Saw Amy in Arizona!!

Doing several Coffee House Shows

Watching daughter's photo shoot

Saw interesting but fun choice of business attire!

Found a wall full of "c's"

OSU Beaver Game!

Celebrated 17 years of Marriage

Got to work at the Amy Grant Show in Portland!

Best Tom Kha Soup!

Spotted the Cutest Waiter at our Favorite Restaurant...
Ladies?

Best Dessert- Bananas Foster at Isabelle Pearl
(That is where the cute Waiter is too!)

Best Tee Off Shot of my entire life!!

The WORST find ever! This was a picture for sale on the wall.
It was sold the next time I went to the store.

I Found My Y2K Preparation List!

2011-12-29T19:57:00.000-08:00

Y2K Awareness!!

As I say goodbye to 2011 this weekend I ran across a list I created to be prepared for Y2K! It's funny because I did nothing on this list post Y2K or there after. Twelve years later I'm still not prepared for a major disaster and I'm still here! I remember the biggest scare was all the computers were going to shut down and we could see our money disappear, planes crash and cars stop right in the middle of the road which is pretty scary. So here's my list as written. These ideas are good for general living for any emergency, but my notes sure are a little vague... Dutch ovens?

ARE WE PREPARED!

First Aide
Make a cubbard (my husband reads this and asked "why on earth would you need to make a cubbard?") I think of course he knows it meant prepare a cubbard full of first aide supplies.. OH!! ha ha "make a cubbard" "Honey get me the skill saw!"
Have 2 of Everything!!

Cars:
Costco- Car Kit
Emergency Numbers

House:
Kerosene Heaters $122
Kerosene Lamps 5.50
cooking sources!!
stove, Dutch ovens..

Evacuation Needs
Clothes
I.D.
Bedding

Water
1 gal per person per day
Pop Bottles
Juice Containers

know how to turn H2O and Gas Off

Video: The Birthday Card

2011-12-13T09:07:00.000-08:00

Just Being Owen

I Tried To Make Cake Pops and they Flopped

2011-12-12T14:46:00.000-08:00

Cake Pop Flop

By now most of us have heard about the little cake pops. Over the years I have tried to make unique character cakes for my children that have NEVER worked out! My daughter still remembers my attempt to make a Barbie Cake where the dress is the cake and the Barbie head sticks out the top. She was horrified at age 5 when she realized her Barbie was amputated at the hip and stuck in the top of the cake. To make matters worse, the all afternoon project was proven a failure as the Barbie's pink skirt started dripping and sagging.. thanks to using too thin of frosting!!

I have reverted back to buying a store bought cake for most of the recent

Birthdays, or have made boring box cakes in a 9x18 pan with ready made frosting and sprinkles. Not exactly fancy, but at least they work and are edible without the snickering behind my back! In fact my son actually asked for one of my special box cakes with sprinkles on it, but I got another wild hair to do something creative. Instead of buying the $20 cake, I bought a $19 cake pop maker. Making the round cake balls was the easy part, frosting them was simply annoying! If I made the frosting to thin it would be a glazed look which I was not going after. Too thick was pulling the cake right off the stick, so again I resorted to ready made frosting and at least got them around the ball and on the stick. They seemed to be likeable, although comparing them to the real cake pops is quite sad. I found a great website that actually does cake pops right http://www.bakerella.com/ and so cute!

Frost

2011-12-11T12:28:00.000-08:00

These gorgeous pictures were taken by my mother-in-law on a frosty morning. This last week in Oregon we have had such cold mornings that have painted the land with a dust of frost almost as if hand sprayed in the perfect artistic pattern. God's beauty and reflection of season's change.

Big 10

2011-12-09T09:49:00.000-08:00

We celebrated a milestone birthday for our youngest who turned 10!! He's a great kid and very funny. His favorite gift was the Big Lego Kit, which by the way.. why on earth do those kits cost SO MUCH!! They take a solid afternoon to assemble but seriously it is ridiculous the amount they charge and the amount we will pay! The other smaller gifts were not expensive, a book, a movie, and a bag of pumpkin seeds, which he was very excited about since I didn't make seeds out of our pumpkins this year. Actually, we didn't even carve pumpkins this year and it was GREAT!! That is the one thing I really don't like to do in the fall, unlike our neighbor down the street who does 30!!! (seems to be overkill.. but to each is own).
Back to the Birthday Boy: Lunch at Swagat Beaverton was his choice. He loves interesting spices and foods so the Swagat Buffet was his first choice. Great Indian food, all you can eat for $5.75 for kids.. great choice. The choice to bowl didn't go too well for him as the gutters were winning, but a quick trip to the Baskin Robbins for orange sherbert made the night end well.. thankfully.