Tag - Your It!

I was tagged by The Adventures of Garrett Squared, who is a full-time RV-er like myself. The only difference is, besides sharing her trailer with her husband, she also has FOUR dogs! Three pugs AND a 160 pound Newfoundland/Mastiff mix. They obviously love dogs and must be a VERY CLOSE family! Ha ha!
All games have rules, so here are

The Rules:
1. You must post the rules.
2. Post eleven fun facts about yourself on the blog post
3. Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post, and then
create eleven new questions to ask the people you've tagged.
4.Tag eleven people and link them on your post
5. Let them know you've tagged them!

ELEVEN FUN FACTS ABOUT ME

Well, I don't know how fun they are, but here we go:

1. I tell good jokes.
2. I can make this sound with my lips that sounds exactly like I'm playing a horn AND I can "play" any song.
3.  I am extremely ticklish on my feet and calves and so that's why I never get a professional manicure for fear that I'd kick someone right in their face.
4. I used to play the accordion when I was a little girl. Now that I have boobs? Not so much. Plus, I forgot how.
5.  I have a terrible memory. (See #4.)
6.  I am a book hoarder. I have over 100 books in my trailer that I haven't read yet.
7. I'm a pretty good cook. If you've seen pictures of Jim and me, they would confirm it. Never trust a skinny cook.
8. I have been in 44/50 of the States in America with or without my husband and/or  my trailer. I am missing Maine, Vermont, Connecticut, New Jersey, Alaska, and Hawaii.
9. I am not good in math and sometimes simple addition problems stall my mind. Sad. I know.
10. I always wished I could draw or paint. Alas, stick people are NOT an art form.
11. I wanted to be a bird when I grew up. I got part of my wish. Now I'm just a bird brain.
    

 AND NOW FOR ANSWERING YVONNE'S QUESTIONS

1.  Would you travel to the moon if you could buy a ticket like you do for air travel?

Gee, would I have enough miles for that? If so, yeah, I think so. I'd like to see the stars. Plus, I'd make a GREAT space cadet!

2.  What is your favorite flavor of ice cream?

My husband is being a brat and buying this delicious ice cream called "Sea Salt Caramel Truffle". To die for - which means I'd kill him if he ate the last scoop!

3.  What is your favorite decade?  Why?

I grew up in the 60's and everything seemed so innocent then. We'd stay outside and play till the streetlights came on; our parents didn't have to worry about strangers with us.

4.  If you could own any vehicle--which one would it be?

Right now, any CAR with great gas mileage that is comfortable would make me happy. Driving around in our "Big Blue" truck that gets 6 mpg is kind of tough!

5.  Snowmen or Precious Moments?

I love snowmen! I collect snowmen ornaments. When I had a home (way back when) I had a small Christmas tree with just snowmen ornaments on it. Sigh. Sure do miss that!

6.  Route 66 or Highway 101?

Gosh. Hard to say. I do love the beauty of Highway 101, but I also love the nostalgia and quirkiness of Route 66. Toss up!

7.  Eat out or Eat In?

I love to cook, but hey, a gal likes to be taken out once in awhile, ya know?

8.  What is your worst habit?

Spend too many hours on the computer!

9.  Where would you like to go on vacation if money was no object and why?

Italy and Sicily - try to find old relatives

10.  What do you do to relieve stress?

Watch TV, read, drink tea

11.  What is your favorite room of your house?
 My bedroom

MY ELEVEN QUESTIONS

1. Do you have a hidden talent?
2. What is the best book you've ever read?
3. Do you buy popcorn when you go to the movie theater?
4. Chocolate or Vanilla?
5. Best vacation place?
6. Do you believe in the afterlife?
7. Who do you most resemble: Felix (neat-freak) or Oscar (slob)
8. How many hours a day are you on the computer? a) 1-3 b) 4-5  c) 6-7 d) all day
9. How often to you comment on everyone's blogs?
10. Do you come from a big family?
11. Can you drive a stick shift?

Gosh this is a lot of work!

PEOPLE I HAVE TAGGED

Feel free to choose whether or not to do this. I admit that it is a LOT of work!

justachickinachair.blogspot.com

gravelroadsanddaiquirisinthedirt.blogspot.com

gypsyfarmgirl.blogspot.com

mcguffysreader.blogspot.com

kisatrtleskreativekorner.blogspot.com

themiddlesideoflife.blogspot.com

kalynnblog.blogspot.com/

wrestlingwithretirement.com

Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Institute/Technique Restaurant

Each year our water aerobics group here in the park goes out to a nice restaurant for a luncheon. This year we went to Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Institute in Scottsdale. It was quite a dining experience! I shared some of the photos with you yesterday in my "Things in a Row" post.


The school occupies the full second floor of a building, and the restaurant is a fairly good size.

Some of my friends going up the escalator to the restaurant.

There were glass windows next to the entrance and I saw some students/chefs who were busy working....possibly baking our desserts?

Besides the restaurant, there is a little deli where you could buy a quick sandwich and grab a drink. It looked  like there was both chicken and egg salad available.

The swimming "gals"!

Students led us to our tables, took our orders, and cooked our food. We had to evaluate our server at the end of our meal.

Some more of our servers:

This guy was so nervous that we thought he was going to spill our water on us! But he did well, and warmed up after awhile! He gave us a big smile here!

The cooks did a WONDERFUL job! Here they are in action!

The young students were following orders from this big honcho (the one with the BIG hat). He'd say what he wanted done, and I'd hear the students answer, "Yes, Chef!"

I walked up to the kitchen area and asked one of the cooks if I could take his picture. He said, "It's 'cause I'm good looking, right?" Oh, he was cute alright! And young! Unfortunately, my flash bounced off of the plexiglass and the photo didn't turn out. So then I held my camera up high and pointed it down towards him and at that time another cook joined him.

I sat back down and told my friends what happened and one said, "Why don't you stand on the side and take the photo?" So I went back to the area and asked if I could do just that. The girl in the above photo said "fine". The young man had his back to me. I yelled, "Hey cutie!" He immediately turned around and posed. Gotta love him!

Here is a shot of the area where you can sit by the counter.

Another area of the restaurant

Just hanging with my peeps.

l-r: Pat, Viv, me, Judy

l-r: Rachel and Thelma

l-r: Jean and Nadine

And now for the food. The meal cost $10, which included a starter, entree and dessert.

First we were served bread and three different kinds of butter - not sure of all the flavors, but ONE of them was a tomato basil.

There were six starters and a flatbread or pizza to choose from. Here are just SOME of them.

This is what I ate. It was DELICIOUS!! The basil leaves were quick fried in oil so they were crisp.

Caprese  Salad - served with fried mozzarella, heirloom tomatoes, roasted red peppers, basil, olive oil, balsamic vinegar reduction

Shrimp Risotto

There were NINE entrees to choose from, plus the daily special.

I had the salmon.

served with English pea puree, asparagus, Parisian potatoes with butter sauce

One friend had the lamb burger. Now let me tell you, I'm not real big on lamb, but this was so tasty and tender that I would definitely order it!

with feta cheese, tomato marmalade, spinach, sautéed red onions, served with hand-cut french fries

Another friend ordered the halibut. Outstanding!

served with corn and fava bean succotash, tomatoes, peas

But let's face it. We were really there for the DESSERTS!! Choice of five.

Here they are!

Cookies and Ice – Raspberry, pineapple and vanilla sorbet in a thin caramel wafer crisp, raspberry, chocolate and caramel syrup sauce, and two chocolate chip chocolate cookies

Salted Caramel Pot de Crème – with Chantilly cream and almond sable cookie

Classic Creamy Cheesecake – with strawberry-rhubarb compote and cocoa sauce

Chocolate Mousse – classic chocolate mousse with Viennese sponge cake, raspberries and raspberry sauce

Seasonal Fruit Crumble – with vanilla bean ice cream

Now isn't this a bargain for TEN BUCKS? Here's the good news! There are several of the schools with restaurants across the United States.  They are located in:

• Atlanta, GA
• Austin, TX
• Boston, MA
• Chicago, IL
• Dallas, TX
• Las Vegas, NV
• Los Angeles, CA
• Miami, FL
• Minneapolis, MN
• Orlando, FL
• Pittsburgh, PA
• Portland, OR
• San Francisco, CA
• Scottsdale, AZ

If you get a chance, check it out! But you should make reservations! They fill up fast!

Thursday's Things in a Row

I went to Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Institute in Scottsdale for lunch the other day. The young students cook and serve the food. I will tell you all about my visit in an upcoming post. While I was there, I saw many things in a row!

Just look at all the things in a row in this photo! Pots! Pans! Ovens! Containers! Carts! Oh my!

So many bowls, so little time!

We saw a beautiful display of cakes. I am thinking that these are sticky buns in a row, on top of a cake made out of sugar.

How about a chocolate purse with white dots? In a row, of course! Remember, this is a CAKE!

Now, these beautiful items are made from sugar. I am posting two photographs from different angles; the second shows the sun shining down on these spectacular pieces.

Aren't these exquisite?

And finally, some freshly made pastries. Yum!

So, is your mouth watering yet?

What do you have for me this week, my  little chickadees?

Signs - Polly wants a WHAT?

A friend of mine wore this shirt the other day at our park. Just had to take a picture of it! It was PERFECT for "Signs"!

For more signs, visit Lesley.

Everything's Coming Up Bacon

 

Who doesn't love the smell of bacon sizzling in a pan on a Sunday morning?

And the taste? Yum! Biting into a crisp piece of bacon? There's nothing like it!

BUT.....

I think the world's gone a LIT-TLE crazy with this whole bacon flavor idea.

How about:

Bacon flavored candy canes?  Uh, no thank you!

Or bacon-flavored jelly beans? Seriously?

Not to be confused with "baking soda", how about some "Bacon Soda"? Yuk! The thought of that just makes me gag!

I can't even imagine.....bacon frosting!

Bacon popcorn! Have some Bacon Soda with it! Yum!

Now this product might have some potential - in my humble opinion. Probably taste good with a hamburger, no?

The following items are not EDIBLE, but are just meant to either SMELL or RESEMBLE bacon.

Who WOULDN'T want a bacon band-aid on their boo-boo?

Wouldn't you like to KISS two lips that were covered in bacon lip balm? Lay one on me, babe! Mmwaah!

And while you're UPCLOSEANDPERSONAL, did you notice how my breath smelled nice and fresh and BACONY? That's because I used my new BACON dental floss! Yipee! (Why does the woman have cherry dental floss? Is there an underlying meaning to that? Huh!)

How about a hand sanitizer that smells like bacon? Who wouldn't want to smell like you're a piece of meat? I bet you'd drive your pets crazy!

And of course, if your HANDS smell like bacon, you MUST have your nails done like this:

Which would all go well if you were going out in THIS ensemble:

For you nerds out there (notice I didn't say GEEKS, as they are completely different kinds of people), here is a bacon wallet. Which I GUARANTEE, if you use, you will NOT get any dates.

Which means you will be a loser, at home, playing the Mr. Bacon game,

and probably pleasuring yourself in the shower with your bacon soap. Fact.

*Sorry. The naughty side of me slipped out! ;0