Happy Friday

There is nothing like a gorgeous fire while snuggled in at home on a rainy cold Friday night!

HUGE Halloween party tomorrow night with the hub!  Definitely pictures to come!

I hope everyone has a safe and wonderful weekend!

Cheers!

How Pinterest-ing: Parmesan Baked Potato Halves

I am back with another Pinterest inspired recipe.  I decided to give a potato recipe a try and the one I chose looked good and didn't require any ingredients I didn't already have.

Source: favfamilyrecipes.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

I first cut all the potatoes in half.  Then melted the butter.  I forgot to take pictures of the process up until I put the potatoes in the pan.  Bad Blogger!

 

45 minutes later I had parmesan potatoes!

 

They were really good but if I make them again (which my husband said I must do) I will add more parmesan in the pan.  Some of them were not completely covered but they all tasted great!

 

Has anyone else tried a recipe from Pinterest?

Did you love it or hate it?

Halloween Mantel

I don't know about anyone else but I LOVE to decorate the house for holidays.  With Halloween coming up I have been slowing adding more decor around the house. I actually think I like having it out more then anyone else in my house!

I put up my Halloween mantel decor recently.  I try to change it up every year with something different so it isn't the same old same old year after year.  This year I strung the spiderweb material all over the mirror above the mantel to give it height so the rest of the decor didn't feel so small against the large mirror.  I hooked in a few of the spiders that came with the webbing.  They really do look real if you aren't expecting to see them!

 

I was snooping around Tuesday Morning this summer and came across a witch's hat in the 80% off section so it came home with me that day.  I love that new addition because it has built in lights that have two settings, flashing and not flashing.  I really didn't think that would work when I bought it because of it being extremely on sale so when it worked I was pleasantly surprised!

I have 2 metal Halloween houses I put out every year so I built them up with small books so they are  little taller.  The tree I bought years ago from Hallmark still sits proudly in the middle.  I added a few spider and pumpkin candle holders to add lower level detail.

 

The cat was a gift I was "booed" with at work last year.  Frankly I didn't know where else to put him so on the mantel he went.

I draped the whole mantel with some black spiderweb fabric that was meant to be a table runner but I think the width works perfectly on the mantel.

Does anyone else do up a Halloween mantel or any other scary scene in their house? 

I would love to see pictures!

 

 

Camping Cub Scout Style

I DID IT!

I camped a whole night out in the woods and didn't die!  We had such a great time and I was way more worked up about it then I needed to be.  I have to say I slept TERRIBLY but I wasn't the only one!  My sister came along and I think she definitely left with a new found appreciation for "Roughing it!"

 

Here is a photo montage of our wonderful 24 hours in the wilderness!

 

In his brand new uniform

My little scout
 



Saluting the flag during the flag up ceremony

Geology lesson from a real geologist



Finding rocks
(we planted them, quartz is not just laying around on the ground at a scout camp)

Our nature hike

This was where we had out camp fire on Saturday night. 
It really was beautiful!
 

Preparing to shoot a BB gun for the first time. 
Glasses are a must, safety first!

Looking like a seasoned marksman! 
This was his favorite part of the whole trip!

Ready for a "good" night sleep after a long day

 

We made it through and had fun doing it.  I have to say I am not dreading the spring camp out now.  I know what to expect and I know what to bring.  Other then the raccoon scratching at our tent in the middle of the night, I was okay with being in the woods.  The food was good, I was not cold at all, and I found a flushable toilet at the mess hall.  All was well for this girl when I found that!  I did this for my son and I will definitely do it again!

 

Has anyone else done something way out of their comfort zone for their child/children?

 

Have a wonderful weekend!

Leaving My Comfort Zone...................Camping!

 

Well I may be crazy but making my son happy is my top priority so I am doing the unthinkable.......I am going camping with him this weekend for the Cub Scout camp out!  I know, everyone I have told has asked me what shoes I am wearing because I never wear anything without a heel except to workout so frankly I am asking myself the same thing!

 

I am not the type of person at all who would voluntarily go on an overnight camping trip.  To me camping includes a celebrity sized RV with cable and air conditioning! 

I wouldn't mind sleeping here!

Source: ssqq.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

I remember rolling up to summer camp and asking my mother where the hotel was.  Needless to say the hotel was nowhere to be found! 

Source: someecards.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

So when my husband was unable to make it to the camp out I said I would do it.  My son is sooooo excited to go and I am sure it will be a fun time once I get there. 

I have been preparing for the camp out for over a week.  I am the proud owner of a 4 person tent on the suggestion of a coworker who camps regularly.  I guess the 2 person barely fits two people and I need my space!  I bought sleeping bags, head lamps, bug spray, and hiking boots for my son.  I still need to make a trip to the store to buy myself some footwear that is appropriate for the great outdoors.  In all honestly I am a habitual over packer so I will likely be way too over prepared for one night in the wilderness but better safe then sorry!

The day and night are filled with fun activities for the boys.  I am definitely bringing my camera to capture the beauty of nature this time of year. 

 

Does anyone have any tips for a first time camper?  

Anything I must take with me?

I need all the tips I can get, wish me luck!

 

 

How Pinterest-ing Candle Cleanout

Has anyone else seen the pin on Pinterest where you can clean out every ounce of wax from a candle jar to be reused for other things?  Well I saw it and decided I had to give it a try because frankly those Bath and Body Works candle jars are gorgeous and I can think of a ton of things to do with them when it is cleaned out! 

 

Source: snapguide.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

 

I started out with a candle that was burned down to the bottom.  Why do they have to burn down through the middle leaving wax all down the sides?  Question for another day I guess!  I boiled water on the stove and poured it over the candle.  I had to put it in the sink because I was afraid what might happen to the glass.  Nothing did happen and I really should have considered the fact it is like a mini fire bowl when the candle is lit but better safe then sorry!

 

 

I stirred it around a bit to loosen all of the wax from the sides.

 

 

 

Then I let it sit until water was cooled down to room temperature. 

 

Once it was cooled down there was a chunk of wax waiting to be removed from the top of the container. 

 

I removed the wax and then dumped out the water.

 

I gave the glass a little scrub with soap and water to remove and residue from the jar and also took the labels off.  Which might I add came off rather nicely!

 



 

And here I have a clean lidded jar to do whatever I want with!

 

SUCCESS!

 

This was so easy I will never throw away another candle jar again.  I think I will use this to fill with Christmas candies and give as a gift.  Picture a beautiful bow on this baby and I will be all set!  I can also see etching a saying on it with my etching liquid.  Loose change jar anyone!

 

Again Pinterest has not steered me wrong. 

 

Has anyone else tried a project from Pinterest?

How did it turn out?

 

 

 

 

 

Cheers to the Freakin Weekend!

Happy Friday everyone!  The title is an ode to the song that starts playing in my head at around 4 o'clock every Friday!  I hope you have wonderful plans for this weekend.  I myself have plans tonight so I am super excited!  The hubs and I are going out to dinner with our friends Scott and Laura to a place called The Wine Bistro.

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I can't wait to relax at a nice restaurant with a glass of wine with good friends!  Love it! 

 

Of course tomorrow is the Ohio State vs California game. 

 

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 We take our football here very seriously in Ohio!  We will definitely be watching the game Saturday at noon!  The Buckeyes have not played the Golden Bears since 1972!  Though I do find that when the Buckeyes play the stores are empty.  Sometimes, and I mean sometimes, I sneak out to do some shopping when everyone else is watching the game.  I know I know I am crazy but seriously if you want get a lot done in a small period of time go out during the game!

 

What does everyone else have in store this weekend?

Does anyone else take advantage of gameday to get some shopping done?

 

 

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How Pinterest-ing - Pizzadilla

As I stated in my prior post, I am going to attempt 1 thing a week from Pinterest and post about it here.  My first attempt at a Pinterest inspired meal came in the form of The Pizzadilla.

 

 

I figured I already had most things on hand already so this would be an easy first attempt at a Pinterest recipe.  So without further ado, this is how is all shook out!

 

First I laid out everything I wanted in my pizzadilla.  Since I do not eat meat it was a no brainer to fill mine with veggies.  I put in onion, green and red peppers, tomato, and mozzarella cheese.  I laid it all out on 1 of the flour tortillas.  Put the other one on top and popped it into the sprayed pan. 

 

Rocket science I know!

 

 

 

Once it began golden on one side  flipped it over.  

If I am blowing your mind too much please sit down!

 

Once I had cooked it to my liking I cut it into pieces as pictured in the photo.  I filled a small dish with pizza sauce for dipping.  This is my best attempt at presenting my finished product. 

 

I am sure my picture looks just a scrumptious as the one from Pinterest.  This helped me realize that food photography is not my calling but I can live with that.  The golden brown color of the tortilla in the Pinterest picture did not translate into my creation.  They had to have used a whole grain tortilla.  Consider that my contribution.  My girl Bethenny Frankel always says "use what you have" so I did!  I knew something from her Skinnygirl Rules book would come in handy other then her margaritas !

 

Well in the end it tasted like a quesadilla made with mozzarella cheese.  It really didn't much flavor so the odds I will make it again are slim but that didn't stop me from eating the entire thing!

 

 

What can I say I was hungry and I didn't want to make anything else!

 

Has anyone else tried a recipe from Pinterest? 

What did you make and how did it turn out?

 



Remembering September 11th

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I am sure everyone who was old enough to remember this day 11 years ago remembers where they were when the first tower was struck.  I remember it like it was yesterday. 

I was getting ready to leave for class when I saw the tower stuck by the first plane.  At that point everyone thought it was a plane that accidentally went off course.  My mom was already at work when this happened so I called her to tell her what I had just seen happen on the tv.

While I was on the phone with her the second plane stuck the other tower.  After that happened I remember not being able to speak.  I skipped class that day because frankly I was afraid of what was going to happen next.  Then the pentagon was hit and the last plane was miraculously taken down in a field. 

This day will forever be ingrained in my brain.  I now have a better understanding for my parents and grandparents when they tell us the stories of where they were when major events in history happened.  Every generation has a day they will never forget and this is mine.  I wish for my sons that they never have to remember where they were when tragedy strikes our nation.

"The attacks of September 11th were intended to break our spirit. Instead we have emerged stronger and more unified. We feel renewed devotion to the principles of political, economic and religious freedom, the rule of law and respect for human life. We are more determined than ever to live our lives in freedom."

--Rudolph W. Giuliani. December 31, 2001

How Pinterest-ing Series

Hello Everyone!  I don't know about you but I am a little more then hooked on this little website called Pinterest.  Yeah aren't we all!  I pin things on a daily basis now (thank goodness they finally came out with an app) but rarely go back and look at what I have pinned!  I have friends who are in the same boat.  You pin and pin and pin but for what reason?  Isn't it supposed to help you organize your likes and store links to things you want to check back on? 

Well I have decided to try one pin from Pinterest a week.  There will be no pin too small.  The type of pin does not matter but if I pinned it, I am going to try it!  If anyone out there in blogland would like to have there Pinterest inspired project featured in my How Pinterest-ing Series just email me all the deets and you will be featured on the blog!  Remember that it doesn't have to turn out well to be featured! 

I think it is important to see what types of projects from Pinterest people are able to accomplish and if they turned out well or not!

Has anyone tried anything from Pinterest? 

How did it turn out? 

 

via Pinterest

 

 

 

Have you heard of Olioboard?

Hello everyone out there in blog land!  I am popping in to tell you all about an awesome new site I found out about the other day.  It is called Olioboard.  If you have ever seen the design mood boards on Pinterest, then you have most likely seen the work of Olioboard. 

I started using it seriously the other day when I was putting together ideas for our future office.  Right now the office is a catch all for everything we don't want anyone to see.  I was finally fed up with not having a plan at all for this space so I decided to log on to Olioboard and give it a whirl myself!

I was pleasantly surprised how easy it was to use.  It has a similar tool to Pinterests' "Pin It" you put in your browser to choose items/pictures from websites if you browsing the Internet and see something you like.  They already have tons of different design options for you to use on the site itself.

Without further ado, here is the beginning of our future office!




I am still working on all of the details that we would like in the room but I think being able to pull all of your ideas together in one place is, in the words of Martha Stewart, a good thing !

Interior design is not the only thing you can do on this site.  Using the browser clipper tool you can clip fashion pictures to create those lovely Pinterest clothing combinations that everyone wishes actually existed in their closet!  My Pinterest closet sure is more fashionable then my actual one!

 

Has anyone else used Olioboard or a site similar to it? 

What do you think of the site?

If you have used it, what did you make?  

Feel free to link up your olioboards, I would love to see how creative my readers are!

 

Book Club Selection for August

Hello there all!  Happy Friday to you!  I thought I would pop in and tell you all about my book selection for one of the book clubs that I am a part of.  This month I am hosting so you know what that means, I get to pick the book!  FINALLY!  I know you can barely contain yourselves with the anticipation of knowing what book I chose, Right?

Well here she is ladies and gents................

source

I have just started reading it so I can't say much about it but I had heard good things from the ladies over at The Everygirl.  They have started a virtual book club and this was the first selection so I had to give it a read! 

For those of you who would like a small synopsis of the book here is the book description care of Amazon.

For fans of Helen Fielding’s Bridget Jones’s Diary and Allison Pearson’s I Don’t Know How She Does It comes an irresistible novel of a woman losing herself . . . and finding herself again . . . in the middle of her life.

Maybe it was those extra five pounds I’d gained. Maybe it was because I was about to turn the same age my mother was when I lost her. Maybe it was because after almost twenty years of marriage my husband and I seemed to be running out of things to say to each other.

But when the anonymous online study called “Marriage in the 21st Century” showed up in my inbox, I had no idea how profoundly it would change my life. It wasn’t long before I was assigned both a pseudonym (Wife 22) and a caseworker (Researcher 101).

And, just like that, I found myself answering questions.

7. Sometimes I tell him he’s snoring when he’s not snoring so he’ll sleep in the guest room and I can have the bed all to myself.
61. Chet Baker on the tape player. He was cutting peppers for the salad. I looked at those hands and thought, I am going to have this man’s children.
67. To not want what you don’t have. What you can’t have. What you shouldn’t have.
32. That if we weren’t careful, it was possible to forget one another.

Before the study, my life was an endless blur of school lunches and doctor’s appointments, family dinners, budgets, and trying to discern the fastest-moving line at the grocery store. I was Alice Buckle: spouse of William and mother to Zoe and Peter, drama teacher and Facebook chatter, downloader of memories and Googler of solutions.

But these days, I’m also Wife 22. And somehow, my anonymous correspondence with Researcher 101 has taken an unexpectedly personal turn. Soon, I’ll have to make a decision—one that will affect my family, my marriage, my whole life. But at the moment, I’m too busy answering questions.

As it turns out, confession can be a very powerful aphrodisiac.

 

Sounded like an interesting read to me so here I go!  I have until the 29th of August to finish so hopefully I will get a good start on it this weekend. 

 

Is anyone else reading any interesting books? 

Have any book suggestions? 

I would love to hear from you!

 

Have a wonderful weekend!

An Unexpected Cry c/o a Like on Facebook!

Well I didn't expect it to happen as I was scrolling through Facebook but it did!  A friend of mine had liked a link to a story called Carrying My Wife.  I started reading it thinking it might have a witty ending but about 4 paragraphs in I was starting to feel the tears and by the 5th I was a mess! 

This little story made me cry but it also made me think about my own marriage.  How many things in my own life I am sure I take for granted on a daily basis.  After I dried my tears and got a hold of myself I went to bed pondering the very questions that the story raises.

I am posting the story below and I would love to hear if and how this story touched you?  Does this make anyone else reconsider their daily interactions with others?

For your reading pleasure I give you

Carrying My Wife

When I got home that night as my wife served dinner, I held her hand and said, “I’ve got something to tell you”. She sat down and ate quietly. Again I observed the hurt in her eyes.  Suddenly I didn’t know how to open my mouth. But I had to let her know what I was thinking. “I want a divorce”, I raised the topic calmly.  She didn’t seem to be annoyed by my words, instead she asked me softly, “why”?  I avoided her question. This made her angry. She threw away the chopsticks and shouted at me, “you are not a man”! That night, we didn’t talk to each other. She was weeping. I knew she wanted to find out what had happened to our marriage. But I could hardly give her a satisfactory answer; she had lost my heart to Jane. I didn’t love her anymore. I just pitied her!

With a deep sense of guilt, I drafted a divorce agreement which stated that she could own our house, our car, and 30% stake of my company. She glanced at it and then tore it into pieces. The woman who had spent ten years of her life with me had become a stranger. I felt sorry for her wasted time, resources and energy but I could not take back what I had said, for I loved Jane so dearly. Finally she cried loudly in front of me, which was what I had expected to see. To me her crying was actually a kind of release. The idea of divorce, which had obsessed me for several weeks, seemed to be firmer and clearer now.

The next day, I came back home very late and found her writing something at the table. I didn’t have supper but went straight to sleep and fell asleep very fast because I was tired after an eventful day with Jane.  When I woke up, she was still there at the table writing. I just did not care so I turned over and was asleep again.

In the morning she presented her divorce conditions: she didn’t want anything from me, but needed a month’s notice before the divorce. She requested that in that one month we both struggle to live as normal a life as possible. Her reasons were simple: our eldest son had his middle school exams in a month’s time and she didn’t want to disrupt him with our broken marriage.  This was agreeable to me. But she had something more, she asked me to recall how I had carried her into out bridal room on our wedding day. She requested that every day for the month’s duration I carry her out of our bedroom to the front door every morning. I thought she was going crazy. Just to make our last days together bearable I accepted her odd request.

I told Jane about my wife’s divorce conditions. She laughed loudly and thought it was absurd. “No matter what tricks she applies, she has to face the divorce”, she said scornfully.  My wife and I hadn’t had any body contact since my divorce intention was explicitly expressed. So when I carried her out on the first day, we both appeared clumsy. Our younger son clapped behind us, “..daddy is holding mommy in his arms”! His words brought me a sense of pain. From the bedroom to the sitting room, then to the door, I walked over ten meters with her in my arms. She closed her eyes and said softly; “don’t tell our sons about the divorce”. I nodded, feeling somewhat upset. I put her down outside the door. She went to wait for the bus to work. I drove alone to the office.

On the second day, both of us acted much more easily. She leaned on my chest. I could smell the fragrance of her blouse. I realized that I hadn’t looked at this woman carefully for a long time. I realized she was not young any more. There were fine wrinkles on her face, her hair was graying! Our marriage had taken its toll on her. For a minute I wondered what I had done to her.
On the fourth day, when I lifted her up, I felt a sense of intimacy returning. This was the woman who had given twenty years of her life to me.  On the fifth and sixth day, I realized that our sense of intimacy was growing again. I didn’t tell Jane about this. It became easier to carry my wife as the month slipped by. Perhaps the everyday workout made me stronger?

She was choosing what to wear one morning. She tried on quite a few dresses but could not find a suitable one. Then she sighed, all my dresses have grown bigger. I suddenly realized that she had grown so thin, that was the reason why I could carry her more easily.
Suddenly it hit me… she had buried so much pain and bitterness in her heart. Subconsciously I reached out and touched her head.

Our younger son came in at the moment and said, “Dad, it’s time to carry mom out”. To him, seeing his father carrying his mother out had become an essential part of his life. My wife gestured to our son to come closer and hugged him tightly. I turned my face away because I was afraid I might change my mind at this last minute. I then held her in my arms, walking from the bedroom, through the sitting room, to the hallway. Her hand surrounded my neck softly and naturally. I held her body tightly; it was just like our wedding day.  But her much lighter weight made me sad. On the last day, when I held her in my arms I could hardly move a step. Our son had gone to school. I held her tightly and said, “I hadn’t noticed that our life lacked intimacy”.

I drove to the office…. jumped out of the car swiftly without locking the door. I was afraid any delay would make me change my mind…I walked upstairs. Jane opened the door and I said to her, “Sorry, Jane, I do not want the divorce anymore”.  She looked at me, astonished, and then touched my forehead. Do you have a fever? She said. I moved her hand off my head. “Sorry, Jane”, I said, “I won’t divorce”. My marriage life was boring probably because she and I didn’t value the details of our lives, not because we didn’t love each other anymore. Now I realize that since I carried her into my home on our wedding day I am supposed to hold her until death do us part. Jane seemed to suddenly wake up. She gave me a loud slap and then slammed the door and burst into tears. I walked downstairs and drove away.

At the floral shop on the way, I ordered a bouquet of flowers for my wife. The salesgirl asked me what to write on the card. I smiled and wrote, “I’ll carry you out every morning until death do us part”.  That evening I arrived home, flowers in my hands, a smile on my face, I ran up the stairs, only to find my wife had been driven home from work early, and she was confined to bed as she was too weak to walk. She died that night, at home in the bed I carried her from every day, for 30 days.
My wife had been fighting cancer for months and I was too busy with Jane to even notice. She knew that she would die soon and she wanted to save my reputation with our sons, in case we pushed thru with the divorce. At least, in the eyes of our son— I’m a loving husband….

What did everyone think?

Back from Vacation

I know people have been wondering if I dropped off the face of the earth.  Well I did for about 2 weeks but I am back.  I swear this entire summer has gotten away from me! 

My oldest is starting school in 2 weeks and I haven't so much as sharpened a pencil let alone went "back to school" shopping.  You would have thought the incessant Target commercials would have gotten by butt into gear but who the heck watches commercials anymore anyway!  That is my story and I am sticking to it!



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We just returned from a week long family vaca to Ocean Isle Beach, NC which was wonderful.  A much needed getaway!  I will definitely have a few posts about that for sure in the near future!  I am hoping with the impending school year and my new gym opening up (finally!) that I can get myself and the fam back on a schedule so life will seem back to normal, though what is normal anyway with 2 boys!

Has anyone else felt like the summer flew by? 

Any last minute getaways planned?

Working on my Fitness

Well I have made a decision!  I am going to train for another half marathon.  I did the quarter marathon in May and that got me invigorated for running again and then summer hit and I totally forgot all about my invigorated self!  I replaced working out with Summer Shandy's at night and the pool on the weekend.  I didn't anticipate or expect myself to lose my fitness level but it seemed to just happen.  I really hate it when that happens don't you!

My better half has made the decision to race in his first triathlon in Orlando on September 15th!  He said he got the bug.  This is coming from a man who will not run anything more then 4 mile races with me because anything more then that is "insane" he says. 

If my hubby can commit to working on his fitness well darn it so can I!  So much for the "bathing suit season excuse because that ship has sailed given it's the middle of July!  So in my quest to better my physical fitness, I have decided to train for and run a half marathon.  I  don't really know which one I want to do yet.  There is one here in Columbus in October which could work.  I will have to decide really soon!

I set out tonight on my first run.  Well, it was hotter then hades out there and it hit me why I usually run in the morning and in the winter!  But that will not deter me.  I ran almost 3 miles in around 30 minutes.  Not too bad but I was dying out there in the heat.  That distance needs to be my easy run not a hard one!  One day at a time!  I guess in a way I am on a couch to 13.1 program because the corner of my couch was wear I was sitting at night!

Has anyone else "lost" their fitness and are attempting to "find" it again?  Any pointers on preparing for a half?  Anyone else training for a race right now?

Wish me luck and I will definitely keep everyone updated on my "fitness"!

via www.pinterest.com

Columbus Food Truck Recap

Well we came, we saw, we waited, we left!  That pretty much sums it up! 

Every single line we waited in ran out of the 1 item on the menu that we were waiting for so after 2 hours of waiting in different lines, we gave up and went to the Hubbard Grill!

I know, I know I have been waiting for this for ever and believe me the disappointment was felt by all.  We were waiting in line for french fries and tater tots with different dipping sauces.  I had been waiting for 40 minutes already and was closing in on the front of the line when a nice woman with a 4 month old baby in a stroller came up to me and said "You know that it is a 45 minute wait AFTER you order.  They don't tell you that until you place you order!"  Well needless to say I thanked her for her warning and I promptly left the line.  3 more lines later I had struck out ever time.  I was hungry and mad so I made the executive decision to head to restaurant that had food!

Our posse agreed and off we went t Hubbard Grill!  The food was good considering how hungry we were. I may have eaten anything at that point!  I had a soup and a salad, exciting I know!

The excitement of the night was a guy with a pimped out car that rolled up with the music bumpin.  I thought I was sly in taking his picture but when I looked up he smiled and gave me a thumps up!  I gave one back and he bumped away!  Notice the beautiful green interior of this white wonder!

So I guess the moral of this little trip was to go at lunch time when everyone is at work if you want food! 

Until next year I guess!