Look What I Did Today!

Yep cut my hair.  Well, my friend and hair dresser Ranell cut my hair. 

Last May my daughter got her hair cut for her 2nd donation to Locks of Love.  It got me to thinking that I needed a hair cut.  My daughter said, "You know mom if you gave it a few more months your hair would be long enough to donate too."  I thought why not.  I asked her how long should I let it grow.  She said, "How about next May?"  I said, "NO! I desperately want a hair cut now I couldn't go a whole nother year.  How about January?"  She and I agree another 6 months should do it.

Come October I was waking up with my hair wrapped around my neck.  I felt like I just had to have a hair cut.  I'd reminded myself January is not that far away for someone who needs my hair.  So, for 3 more months I put it in pony tails, buns and braids to try and deal with this mop on my head.

Next thing I knew January was here.  Then I kept forgetting to call Ranell and make an appointment.  Finally got around to it last week.  Today was my appointment.  It was no secret I was getting my hair cut, but I must not have talked about it much.  As I saw each of my family members today and different times each were so shocked and surprised that my long hair was gone.

Most of my friends and family wanted to see and hold my braid and thought it was neat.  My 18 year old son jokingly said, "Get that thing away from me it's creepy."  Of course I had to tickle him with it and watch him get the creeps.  I told him I'd have to hide, because I'd find him cuddle up with it in the morning.  He said, "No you won't because I don't cuddle.... RAT TAILS!"  He's so funny and makes me laugh.

My braid measures 12 inches and I'm proud to have a decent donation.  My hair cut is pretty cute too.

Little Star

My little poodle baby.  We are at my parents house for Christmas in this picture.  This is exactly what I was talking about when I said a dog can be your baby when your children no longer are.  My kids are too big and too embarrassed to let me hold them like this now.  Little Star doesn't mind it a bit.  In fact she climbed up on me and laid down without any coaxing.  Our first conversation was do I look like a couch to you?  She just gave me a look that said, "No, you look like mom."  She is a cuddly poodle, but not quite this cuddly.  I think when we are away from home she gets a bit more clingy.  I often wonder if she feels like she needs to lay on me, so I won't forget to take her home with me.  Like I leave her places all the time.  No I don't.  She's more important than my purse.  I've never left her any where.  I asked DH to take a picture, because she was just being so precious.  Smoozing me for food is probably more like it.  When we go to Grandma's and Grandpa's there are a lot more snacks given out than at our house.  Little Star's sister Twinkle asked for snacks several times a day and got them.  When we are visiting Little Star gets them too.

For Christmas Little Star got a toy Pheasant.  Petco started carrying a realistic animal line of toys a few years ago and Little Star loves them.  She now has a chipmunk, squirl, duck and pheasant.  I thought it was so cute that with Twinkle's toy scattered about Little Star knew this was hers.

She slept on it quite a while until she realized she was being watched.  Sorry cute poodle alert! Had to take a picture!  Like with people, pets need to be appreciated every single day, because one doesn't know how long we have together.

RIP Sweet Twinkle

(Twinkle Opening her Christmas present 2009)

Our dog family has taken quite a hit in just the past 6 months. We've gone from a 4 dog family to 1.  This year my dad's hunting dog and Twinkle's friend Chyna died of old age on Memorial day. My brother's dog (my Miss Marie's brother) died on the same day Marie did October 15th only 2 years later. He was 19. Though the 3 dog deaths were sad... in a way they were expected. That is the cycle of life when owning a pet. We took great care of them nursing them till the end. When cancer and getting hit by a car are the leading ways dogs die we were lucky and vigilant.

This past week we got news that my parent's poodle Twinkle had liver cancer. She was expected to live about 2 more weeks. She made it 5 days. She was 7 years old. She is the sister to my poodle Little Star. Together they were "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star." A death that none of us were ready for least of all my parents. It has hit them pretty hard. They were right there with her till the end. She is buried next to Chyna in the garden they both loved so much.

It has hit my parents hard not just because they loved Twinkle so much, but also because they are entering the twilight of their life. Dog ownership is a big question when you start to wonder how long will you live. They expected Twinkle to live another 10 years and probably be the last dog they'd ever own. My parents are at a time in life when taking care of themselves and each other from day to day is their job. Having a pet to love and take their mind of their own selves was a blessing. Having a dog to make one get out of bed when arthritis makes you want to stay in bed is a pleasurable reason to get your body moving.  Having a dog to baby when your children aren't babies is a joy.  My parents don't just see this as a death of a dog, but a death of dog ownership maybe even the beginnings of their own death.

My dad gave me the run down of Twinkle's last day. I knew he needed to talk. He talked through his tears to give me the story of how brave Twinkle was. What I heard was how brave the three of them were. After my dad was done telling Twinkle's story he said emphatically, "NO more dogs for us. We couldn't take that again."

I thought how sad that the death of a beloved dog would stop one from ever having another. I get it. They are feeling old. Well, they are old. But they'll get older and they should have the joy of a dog until the end. I talked to my brother last night about their situation. My parents have had a dog in their house usually 2 for the last 40 years. I discussed with him that in a few months we'll talk to them about getting another dog and assure them that we will help them with their pet ownership.

My husband and I know full well what it is like to inherit a dog. My husband's parents were 15 years older than my parents and died fairly quickly after we were married. We inherited a 98 pound guard dog named Nixon. He always seemed pretty scary.  Nixie as we affectionately called him, became a beloved member of our family. We didn't have any pets at the time and I was pregnant with my first child. There was very little questioning when we took him in and made a house dog of him. Yes, he altered our lives in big ways. Allowances needed to be made, but we made them. Nixie lived until he was 13 1/2 and my children remember what a great dog he was even though they were pretty little when he passed on. We live on 1/2 an acre much bigger than we probably would have gotten, but big dogs need big yards. Our beautiful big backyard is because of him.

(Sister-in-law, Niece, Nephew and Twinkle excited about her Christmas present)

It's been a few months and my brother and his wife are ready for another dog. My hope is in a few months my parents will be able to open their hearts to another dog. The benefits of owning a dog far out way the heart break at the end.

Restaurant Review

New Years Eve we decided to give this restaurant a try. It came highly recommended. It was described as "Home Town Buffet only better." Well, I have two problems. First I didn't think Home Town Buffet is very good. I love to cook and taking me to a buffet where their main goal is to get large quantities of food out fast isn't always a good thing. Secondly, I can't eat a lot of food in one sitting. I don't have a problem with it, but dear hubby doesn't feel like we're getting our money's worth when taking me to a buffet.

We decided we had to try the "Golden Corral" just to see what all the hoopla was about. I have to say I was very pleasantly surprised. The selection and quality of the food was very good. My daughter and I fell instantly in love with their Loaded Potato & Bacon Soup. I moved on to fried clams, beer batter fish and had a stare down at the freshly made onion ring station.

A cook came out of the back with 6 large freshly deep fried delicious looking onion rings. A gal standing right in front of the warmer tray asked the cook, "Do you make these fresh yourself?" He said, "Yes, we do." She said, "They are wonderful." She proceeded to pick up all 6 onion rings and put them on her plate with me standing right there waiting for at least one. This is where the staring came in. I gave her the "I can't believe you are going to take them ALL when you've already had some!" look. She hadn't quite got to her plate and let 2 of the onion rings slide off the tongs back in the warmer tray. I smiled at her. They were good! Beer batter dipped large slices of sweet onion cooked to a tender perfection.

I had a mini sirloin burger, a mini buffalo chicken sandwich, a bite of orange chicken and "OH GOODIE" creamed spinach! Yes, I'm weird and I love the stuff. I surveyed the Mexican section, the Italian section and cruised through the bakery section. They were making their own bread dough. You could watch them working in their kitchen. This is also where I saw the cutest mini donut machine. My first thought was I want one! It could sit on my kitchen counter forever. Check out my short video. I just had to share it's cuteness with my friends and took a video.

I have to say though the only 2 things I didn't like at the Golden Corral was their orange chicken. Had a fake odd orange flavor and the creamed spinach was to put it mildly disgusting.

A mere 20 minutes into our adventure I was full. My daughter and I decided to share the same side of the booth as my husband was up and down many times. Now he is someone who can eat a lot in one sitting. After sitting for about 20 minutes I decided to just look at the dessert section. All different cakes and pies, Rice Krispie treats and fudge, pudding and jello, soft serve and ice cream scooped on a cone. What to get?! Who are we kidding I can't just look. Everything looks so wonderful. I'm getting the feeling of being in Wonka land. Then I see it my all time favorite pie Coconut Cream and it's so tiny. A wafer thin (any Monty Python fans out there) morsel of Coconut Cream pie. Surely I can fit this in. After fighting off my daughter I ate the pie and nearly exploded in the true sense of Monty Python's "Meaning of Life." If you haven't seen "Meaning of Life" don't it's pretty gross. If you have you get the idea.

We all had a great meal and will definitely try this restaurant again. Next time I may have pie first!

To see if there is a Golden Corral near you visit their website.

Store Hours
As a general rule all Golden Corral's are open 7 days a week. Specific hours and menu items may vary. Please call your local Golden Corral to verify days/hours of operation and menu offerings.

Lunch and Dinner 11am to 10 pm
Saturday Breakfast 7:30am to 11:00 am
Sunday Breakfast 7:30am to 11:00 am

My local restaurant is located in NORTH HIGHLANDS, CA, 4940 WATT AVENUE 95660.
(916)348-4396

Cheddar Potato Slices

Made 3 batches of this molten lava potato recipe in December. I make this when scalloped potatoes are called for. I just find scalloped potatoes to be so bland and uninteresting. This recipe from Campbell's soup is flavorful, cheesy and easy to make. It's never been bumped up against a pan of scalloped potatoes until my machine knitting December luncheon. 2 people were asked to bring "Scalloped Potatoes." I volunteered knowing I'd bring "Cheddar Potato Slices" disguised as "Scalloped Potatoes." When I went to get my pan to clean it up and bring home any leftovers mine was practically licked clean. The pan of Scalloped Potatoes was about 75% full. I rest my case.

Cheddar Potato Slices
Recipe from: Campbell's Soup

Servings: 4
10 ¾ ounces mushroom soup

½ teaspoon paprika

½ teaspoon pepper

4 medium baking potatoes, (about 2 pounds), cut ¼ inch thick

1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Combine soup, paprika, and pepper in small bowl.

In greased 2-quart oblong casserole, arrange potatoes in overlapping rows. Sprinkle with cheese. Spoon soup mixture over. Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake 10 minutes more or until potatoes are fork tender.

He's Todd-tastic!

That's what my son says when I ask him "How was your guitar lesson today?" He's say's, "It was Todd-tastic!" The guitar instructor's name is Todd in case you haven't guessed. It's been 1 1/2 years since the kids started guitar lessons. Erik on the bass guitar and Allison on the guitar. Both kids are still enjoying their lessons with Todd. All I ask is that they play 3 Christmas songs for me for my present. This year I qualified it with "and play cheerfully and cooperatively." Todd has nothing to do with that. He teaches them separately. Like typical young siblings they don't always do things cooperatively and without argument. This year they did pretty well considering they didn't practice one time together on the Christmas songs. By the 3 third song they were playing very well. I enjoyed it. I hope they continue to enjoy their lessons with Todd.

Hand Knitted Scarves an Adiction

I learned to crochet when I was in 3rd grade. My mom taught me and gave me my own yarn and needle, which I took to school. When I'd think about it and had a few minutes I would crochet. Still being a novice I would crochet little triangles. I didn't know about chaining at each end yet to keep the rows even. I didn't notice anything was unusual I was just having fun crocheting.

I crocheted into my 20's when I finally stopped because the only yarn I really knew about was Red Heart and anything made with it was scratchy and made one itch. I lost interest and went on to other crafts.

I did try in my teens a brief lesson in knitting from a friend and I didn't like it.
A few years ago my cousin taught me to knit. I wasn't terribly interested as I prefer to crochet and again wasn't interested in scratchy Red Heart yarn. Well, it was the only craft she did and she wanted to teach me. So, I really couldn't say no to her or learning a new craft. She told me about large knitting needles and all the beautiful yarns there are now. I hadn't really done any yarn projects in about 20 years. We went to JoAnn's got me some size 19 knitting needles and she showed me which yarns she likes to pair. We paired an eyelash yarn with some homespun in colors I liked. Went back to her house and we knitted. It was really very easy on such large needles. That's when my addiction started. When I saw all the new affordable fun yarns I became crazed at finding new combinations. I finally got to where I could knit a scarf in 4 hours. That's all I knew how to do was knit a large rectangle. Still to this day I don't know how to knit any other stitches. I may have to take a lesson. I'd like to learn ribbing.

My favorite pairings of yarns is when the 2 are completely different colors. Like red fun fur with black homespun or lime green fun fur with black homespun.

My absolute favorite combination was white homespun with ribbon yarn. I just loved the look. I've made probably over 20 or so scarves over the past few years. Many I've given away as gifts, but my favorites I would put in a plastic crate in my bedroom thinking some day I'll sell them. Well the day came. A friend of mine has opened a fiber arts store and she took my scarves on consignment. Part of me didn't want to give up my treasured scarves the other part knew it was time to make money for more yarn!