Going To The Mall... Not So Relaxing Any More

I've been to the mall twice in the past week which is a world record to me. I'm just not a big shopper. Basically, if it doesn't involve something I know I need, feeding my family or crafting I just don't shop. Every now and then I get the urge to just do a little shopping. Especially this time of year when the holidays come into play. I like to go to the mall on a weekday in the morning. It isn't crowded and I like it that way.

Except when I went to the mall Friday morning I found the mall crowded with sales people. Not in the stores, but down the middle of the mall. All these little booths selling a whole myriad of things. Now there have been these types booths in the past, but only about 1/10th as many. Friday I was accosted about every 10 feet by some type of sales person. It felt very much like going into a grocery store and there is someone waiting at the door with some sort of charitable sale. Not that I'm not giving and want to help, but do I have to think about that sort of thing when I just want to buy some milk for my family.

Instead of saying "no thank you" or "not today" once as I enter a store I was asked questions every ten feet. They are trying to lure you in for a sale by pretending to start a conversation or do you a favor. "Can I curl your hair?" Me, "No thank you. "Would you like to jazz up your cell phone?" Me, "Not today." "May I spritz you with organic mango juice perfume?" Me, "No thank you." "Can I wash your hands in germ fighting eucalyptus water?" Me, "No thank you, but do you do feet? Hey, I am moving along no need to be rude!"

See evil booths beginning about halfway up the photo.

I'd only walked about 50 feet and I was exhausted. Part of going to the mall by myself is I don't won't to talk to anyone really. I want a peaceful morning of just looking and maybe purchasing something. The mall I was at has 2 stories. I'd only gone about halfway through the bottom floor. I was already tired of talking. I decided to keep going even though every part of my being was screaming "leave the mall." There were 2 stores I really wanted to see the Disney Store and the Yankee Candle store. They were upstairs and due to the open air structure of the mall there is no center floor to put sales booths on up there. I would get some peace and quiet up on the 2nd floor.

I got to the center of the mall's bottom floor and noticed they had remodel that part of the mall and added a wing. They had moved the escalator that had been right there the equivalent of another half mall away. As I look down the wing I can see the escalator in it's new spot. I then notice between it and I was about five more sales booths. I'm sure loaded with lots more lotions, potions and knickknacks they are just dying to try and sell. Right then and there I said, "I'm done." I turned on my heal and headed back out of the mall. Listening to my inner voice saying, "If you want peace and quiet you need to leave now." I past the 10 or so sales booths that I had just past and the sales people remembered I wasn't interested and swooped past me for new prey. Thank goodness.

I know I'm sounding like a crazy agoraphobic hermit right now. Really I'm none of the above. I just don't like aggravation unless I'm prepared for it. Unless I'm willing to endure it. Like at Christmas time. One knows if you go into a store of any kind there will be people galore up and down the aisles and more waiting in lines at the check stands. I know this and I'm prepared for it. Like Costco on the weekend. One knows there are people galore up and down the aisles and more waiting in MILE long lines at the check stands. This is tempered though by snackies at the end of quite a lot of aisles. I digress back to the topic at hand. Like going to the doctor's office. You know even though you are on time your appointment will be late and there will be an office full of other people waiting for their late appointments.

So, when I go to the mall on a weekday morning I don't expect to be accosted by sales people. First off I'm not the kind of person who will buy anything they're selling. I'm not a lotion and potion girl. Never have been. I'm not a knickknack person. I won't buy a $30 dollar stuffed dog who's side rises and falls like it were breathing. Not from it's lungs, but from it's liver or spleen. They really need to work on the placement of that one. I'm not going to buy a plate with dolphins painted on it or it's matching candle holder. My cell phone works just fine with it's original black cover. Afterall, it's free, well sort of, it came with the phone.

I want shopping to go back to being a spectator sport. I want a spritz of organic mango juice perfume when I ask someone to come and spritz me and not a minute sooner.

Bacon Cheddar Waffles... Oh my!

I bought a new waffle iron with my birthday money. I wanted a Belgium waffle. I have a very tiny crevice waffle iron that is convenient, but I missed having bigger holes to catch syrup. I'm not totally convinced that I like this All-Clad waffle iron and that I'll keep it. Doesn't stop me from testing it. The first batch of waffles was the Buttermilk waffle recipe that came with the waffle iron. It was tasty. Yes, the holes are bigger, but the iron squishes the batter so compactly that waffle walls are kind of thin. Thought I'd try a couple more recipes before I know for sure whether or not I want to keep it.


Tonight my son and I made Bacon Cheddar waffles for dinner. I searched the Internet for a savory recipe. This recipe is a keeper! See the steam from the waffles cooking. I am so full right now. I should have stopped eating at 2 squares not 3. We did not put syrup on them. Just ate them plain with a big side salad.


When the green light comes on the waffles are done.

Bacon Cheddar Waffles

1 egg
1 cup milk
1 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon butter, melted
2 cups Bisquick baking mix
6 bacon, strips cooked and crumbled
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

In a medium bowl, beat 1 egg.

Add: milk, sour cream, melted butter.

Stir in Bisquick baking mix, mix well.

Fold in: cooked and crumbled bacon strips and cheddar cheese.

Spoon batter onto a hot waffle iron.

Close waffle iron and cook until golden brown. (Will be done when steaming stops -- 4-5 minutes).

Serve drizzled with: maple syrup OR fruit-flavored syrup.

Making a costume

My daughter's friend loves ketchup, so much so she wanted to BE ketchup for Halloween. When she was over helping my daughter make a piñata for their ROTC Halloween party she asked my daughter if she could be French Fries for Halloween. My daughter says, "I don't know.... mom can we make a French Fry costume for Halloween?" I said, "Sure." As I always think I can do something even before I try to do it. Why not. One doesn't know until you try. I have to say I don't think I've tried to do anything that hasn't turned out. Sometimes it's WAY harder than I thought and I'll never do it again. BUT a Halloween costume was right up my alley. I've made many.



I knew we wouldn't have a lot of time to spend making this costume. I knew we needed to make the traditional McDonald's fries for this costume to be truly recognizable and cute. I bought 4 sheet of red poster paper and one sheet of yellow. What was a bit annoying and I know the company must do this to be frugal, but the poster board is one color on one side and another on the other. The red was red on one side and green on the other. The yellow was yellow on one side and blue on the other.



First thing I did was find out how big my daughter wanted the costume. She said the width of the poster paper would be long enough. So, I cut it wide enough for here body. I then used the piece I cut as a template to cut the matching back piece and the piece I needed to line the back piece. Since it was green on the back I needed to cover the back with red, because it would show. I could use the pieces I cut off of the front and back to use for the side panels.



Then I cut a semi circle off the top edge of the front panel. I taped it to the back panel. This made it look like the McDonald's French Fry container. I used clear packing tape to tape the panels together and the half circle pieces.



At this point I had my daughter put it on and we decided where to cut the arm holes. Once they were cut I made straps for her shoulders using the clear packing tape. I stuck on piece to the front and back with sticky side up. Daughter being careful to keep her hair out of the way. I then stuck a similar length piece of tape sticky side down on top making a perfect strap. I did the same thing to the other shoulder. This way she wouldn't have to hold the box up all night.



We pre cut the French Fry strips. Folding them in half to cover up the blue color on the reverse side. We used hot glue to keep these permanently folded. Again my daughter put on the costume, so I could glue on the French Fries. She didn't want to put on the costume for this. TEENAGERS! But I made it clear she didn't want any fries sticking up in her face and annoying her all night. With it on we could put the fries on in a way that made it comfortable. With hot glued I added the fries.



We had pre cut the "M" out of the yellow before the fries. This worried me a bit. I didn't think we'd have enough yellow poster paper for the fries. We had just enough. Not a scrap was left. The fries didn't have to be too big. Just enough to peek out the top.



The "M" was all my daughter. She free handed the drawing of the "M." I hot glued it on the front. Then my daughter did the shading and trademark logo. This I feel really made the costume in the words of fashion designers "pop." It suddenly took on a cuteness all it's own.



What was great about this costume being put together with packing tape was it was very strong and flexible. The costume folded flat to be tucked away when one got too hot or wanted a break from the costume.

"Receiving an award for costume that is folded up in background. She needed arms to operate the piñata she had made. "

It held together great. I thought she'd lose French Fries, but she didn't. The only danger was at lunch at school on Friday she was chased around with teenagers wanting to bite her costume and one friend actually did.

Pumpkin Carving

I got a free stencil from the Better Homes & Garden website. They had the most adorable pet stencils this year. I altered the poodle template to look more like my poodle Little Star. We all enjoyed our carved pumpkin. It's in the house right now, so some hoodlum won't smash it on the road tonight.

Thanks to my Internet friend Jan at "The Poodle (and dog) Blog" for bringing these templates to my attention. I've never been one to dress up my dogs, but I'll most certainly carve their likeness on to a pumpkin.

Off to try and hide the candy from the poodle. That dog amazes me every year what she can find and how the heck did she get it.

Happy Halloween!

Don't bother hiding the candy. I'll find it.

Karen's Thai Chicken Soup

This recipe was created by my friend Karen Hawkins. She was telling me years ago about a restaurant that had a delicious Thai Chicken Soup. So, we went to lunch there and had the soup. She was right it was so good and when the weather gets cold it more than hits the spot. It's smooth tomato broth slides down your throat and warms you from the inside out. She decided that day she'd try and recreate it. This recipe is SO close that I don't think I could tell the difference. Although I probably could as the restaurant version is so spicy hot I almost couldn't eat it. That's how good the soup was... I was willing to endure pain to eat it. Mine is a lot cooler in the spice department.

Karen's Thai Chicken Soup

2 celery sticks, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tsp olive oil
1 large chicken breast, cut in bite sized pieces
1 - 14 oz. can low fat coconut milk
1 - 14 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 - 8 oz. can tomato sauce
2 - 14 oz. cans chicken broth
1/2 cup uncooked rice
Thai Chili Paste to taste

Saute' celery, onion and garlic in olive oil until onion is soft. Add chicken breast and cook until done. Add coconut milk, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce and chicken broth. After bringing to a boil add rice and Thai chili paste to taste depending on the amount of heat you like. Simmer until rice is cooked.


Lynne's note: I like to low fat coconut milk I'm sure the full fat version would be fine. I also like to use the petite cut canned tomatoes. I don't like the large chunks of tomato in this soup. In last night's version of the soup I had 4 chicken thighs that needed to be used. After the celery/onion/garlic was sauteed I added the chicken broth only. I then added the 4 chicken thighs without their skin. I simmered the thighs until cooked through. I removed them let them cool and cut into bite sized piece. I added the chopped chicken back to broth along with other ingredients of the recipe. I used reduced sodium chicken broth and the soup needed some added salt in my opinion.

As for the heat in this soup it does need some zing so don't skip it. I had this odd hot sauce in the fridge that my husband and daughter like to use to season food. My son and I have tender tongues and don't add hot sauce to anything. For the recipe though I do like a little heat. I've used chili oil in the past as I usually have some on hand. Last night I thought I'd try above sauce I had purchase for DH at the grocery store. It was recommended on the Food Network as being very flavorful. I just take DH's word for it. After quizzing him on exactly how hot was it I started by stirring in 1/2 teaspoon. Then I tasted. I ended up adding 3 teaspoons all together. I probably could have stopped at 2 1/2 as my nose was running quite a bit. BUT the soup was good! Didn't slow me down a bit.

Note: Dh hubby and I had leftover soup for lunch. As I ate mine I got to thinking it was so much better than the night before if that is possible. I wondered would I ever make a batch of soup and then save it for the next day before eating? The soup still had the wonderful tomato broth that feels so good going down one's throat, but it was thicker more like a stew. The rice in the soup had really absorbed the broth and thicken the soup. I was a little worried that the soup might be spicier since I used a new hot sauce, but it was just right.

DH called me from work and asked me if I had eaten my soup. He then went on to say it seemed so much better the next day and would I consider making the soup and waiting a day to eat it. I laughed as I had just visited that idea when I ate my soup.

In The 'Hood

I had to go to the part of Sacramento referred to as the Hood. An area where you need to be aware of your surrounding and what is around you. It can be a dangerous rough area. As I was heading to my destination I saw a sign that said "Monster Bus." I thought, "OH MY! This neighborhood has really gotten rough if they refer to riding the bus as the Monster Bus." In another block I saw this bus and had to chuckle. OK maybe things aren't as rough as I thought. An area of Kmart's parking area was cordoned off for rides on this adorable bus. Not so scary after all.