Visiting Zoog's from Restaurant Impossible

One of my favorite shows is Restaurant Impossible and I love when they come to Washington State so I can go try out the place.  We've gone to 2 other restaurant's so far and for Valentine's Day we went to the 3rd one on our list.  

This is my OVER Cheese smile

EVERY TIME I meet someone on TV.

Thanks to my husband indulging in my craziness and drove me 1 1/2 hours to Zoog's Caveman Cookin Restaurant & Cave Lounge in Port Hadlock, WA.  We got there around 7:30pm so thankfully the Valentine's Day rush was over but so was MOST of the Valentine's Day specials.  They were only doing that menu and not their full menu which we really wanted to try the BBQ and salmon.

Zoog actually came over to our table to greet us and say hi and see how we are doing. Rick was so sweet and asked Zoog if he would take a picture with me :). We got to talk to him a while. He said a few things were staged like the IRS lady and the Keg of beer. He was going in that following Tuesday for his heart surgery and was in great spirits.

We both ended up with burgers that were very good and juicy. We probably won't make the drive again but it was worth the one trip.

Have a GREAT Thursday!

Restaurant Impossible Visited Spunky Monkey

Rick and I had date night last Saturday, the boys were at the YMCA Kids Night Out and we had a free night.  I love watching Restaurant Impossible and they came to a town not to far from us and we had to go check it out.  

The Spunky Monkey is in Auburn, Washington.  It's a Bar / Restaurant.  I used to go hang there with friends pre kids.  It was what you would expect a bar to be like dark and greasy food!  Robert and his crew did a great job sprucing the place up.  It was a fun night out, the staff were very nice but the food was way over priced.  We walked out around $52, which I thought was crazy high.  

I started with the hummus for $8 it was a good deal, the salmon I had was like $17 and you had a small amount of sweet potato (really it was yams but they can call them sweet potatoes).  Which I guess is the going price but I'd expect that in a big fancy place not a bar / restaurant.  We had fun and that is all that matters, we don't get many date nights out.  Rick is usually working 2 jobs and doesn't leave to many free night.  You may have saw him on the SeaHawks game 2 weeks ago (he was the security guard that opened the gate for the 2nd injured player, see pic below).

Here are some fun pictures of our date night!

Rick on TV :)

Have a great day, I'm recovering from eye surgery!

Friday Funny!

We don't get out very often but this is so true.  HECK this is true for just getting the kids out the door for school.  Darn kids ... LOL  I hope to maybe even go out this weekend, we'll see.  I'm still so tired I may just get more sleep ... lol.

I'm still recovering from being in Boston and now trying to get my legs back on my routine, so why not post a funny.  I'll be around soon to say hi, sorry I'm missing you all.  I saw this on FB and just had to share a funny.

Wonder Years they are ...

Last Friday Rick and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary  It has been a whirl wind life.  We were friends for 2 years, my mom said that is the man you'll marry.  I thought she was crazy told her no he is just a friend.  She was right we dated for 2 and then married!  We went to Miami for our honeymoon, because it was so darn cheap (YUP didn't think about hurricane season .. duh). It was a nice place to visit the one time.  We came back to find I was pregnant with our first son Cole!  We then went on the buy a bank-repo house, we got the keys on Christmas Eve.  I was 6 months pregnant and happy to have the new house!  1 month later we actually got to move in due to the work that had to be done to make it livable.  3 years and 3 months later we had baby #2 Caden!  Mom says he is my sweetheart because I wished so hard for a girl.  

We have gone through many different jobs, and our fair share of ups and many downs.  I'm happy to say I'm happy were we are and I'm happy with myself.  I'm not at my goal but I'm so darn close and it's been one heck of a journey to be happy to have pictures taken of us.  

We celebrated with a movie (Grown Ups 2), which I thought was going to be a total Rick movie but I actually enjoyed!  We then had a Restaurant.com coupon I picked up for $2 for a $25 GC at a local Italian restaurant.  It worked out perfect the boys were at the boys and girls club until 6p so we hit an early movie. Then the church next to home had a VBS 6p to 8p that allowed us to hit dinner and not have to pay a babysitter!  Talk about happy dance!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!  

Our Date Night:

Yes he never smiles in photos.

They made me a special steak and veggie meal! Love them!

Here's some pictures of us:

He's loved me thick, to thin, to thick to thin to thick and back to thin :)

37th Year Celebrated in Style

I had such a great birthday this year.  I really did have the best time and was so grateful to celebrate with some great friends and family.

Friday the boys and I picked up Oz the Great and Powerful.  Now you all know my feeling about movie remakes this is kind of like what Star War's did and did a prequel the moments that lead up to the movie you love.  I must say it was ok in the beginning towards the end it did pick up and we enjoyed it.  The boys enjoyed pizza and popcorn, while I ate my hamburger patties.  I was being good and stuck to the diet that night.

Movie Night

Saturday we had a busy day, I worked got a quick weight lifting work out and even tried out my new running shoes for 3 miles.  The boys and I ran up to see my mom and dad to pick up my gift.  It was so excited to see a gift card for Cheesecake Factory since Rick and I were heading up there on Sunday.  We then ran to my friends house for a candle party and let the kids go swimming for a bit.  My friend was so sweet she even had balloons and a very sweet bakers basket for me!! We then made a mad dash to take the kids to the YMCA Kids night out!  I then ran home and put on a new pair of blue skinny pants and I hit the town.  I meet up with my woman's group for dinner, I really thought it would be an early night but we had so much fun watching the line dancing that started at 9pm after the restaurant turned to a country bar.  Which mind you NONE of us are country fans so it was a new experience for us.  We ended up staying until after 10pm!  I'm so bummed that I didn't get a picture of all of us.

New shoes and pants for my 3 mile walk.

My amazing bakers gift basket!

Dinner Night with my Women's Night

Sunday Rick's schedule changed from day to afternoon.   So we had to do breakfast at the Cheesecake Factory.  I ate a meal that followed my diet plan but I did splurge and went with the full on cheesecake not the low carb version I was going to go with.  I thought I deserved a little something special!  We got home Rick ran to work and the boys and I headed up to the lake to hang with my childhood friend at her dock (2 down from my parents).

Rick got his Avacado Eggrolls, Coke and a Salad (and my toast)

I had a omelet with meat and cheese and a Kahlua Cheesecake

It was the best weekend I could have ever asked for!

Thank you so much for all the birthday wishes!

Randomness in my life ....

We've had some fun things and just life going on here so a break from recipes I show you what the heck has been going on her and with us!

First on my list was a little pampering for me!  My offices is now closing early on Fridays, I start usually at 5am (8am their time) and they are closing up at 12p (3p their time).  So it's actually almost a full day so I'm going to take queue on Fridays and leave at 12p instead of my 3p (my time) like usual.  I went and got my toes done, while there I got talked into a mani that I usually NEVER do and then a gel on top which I SHOULD have asked if cost more which was $10 more yikes!

Then Saturday Rick was working the Metro Parks Let's Play event at the Tacoma done which was FREE for kids!  The kids had so much fun!  Lot's of running around!

Then Saturday night the YMCA had a Kids night!  You drop the kids off at 5:30pm and then you pick them up at 8:30am!  Oh yes an overnight stay.  I thought Caden would hate it so I signed up just Cole (heck for $30 it's worth it and $21 for the second kid).  So we picked Cole up his VERY own 1st sleeping bag and he was ready to go.  They swam, played basketball, games and a movie!!  And YES Caden was VERY upset he didn't get to go, Next month he so will be going next month :).

So Caden and I had a date night with a movie Frankinweenie!  Caden thought it was cute and loved he got to eat popcorn in my bed.  Mom drank her water and wanted to go head first in the popcorn but I was good and said no!

We then had Caden's field trip to the Pantages Theater to watch a play on Eric Carle's books! It was super cool and it was only 2 puppeteers doing the whole play I swear it was like 10!

I tried a Pinterest item and it was my first real FAIL!!!

Restaurant Impossible Visited ... Alexis Style

It's not often Rick and I agree on a TV program, but Restaurant Impossible is one of the shows we both enjoy!  Now you all know I love to cook, I wouldn't call myself a foodie but I do love to try new recipes and also restaurant.  Last week we watched Restaurant Impossible on the Food Network to find it was a restaurant here in Washington State.  Rick looked it up and found it was about 40 minutes from us.  He was so thoughtful and made a plan for us to go this Sunday when we both were off from work.

I was so excited to ONE go out and TWO visit a famous place!  Now we haven't gone out in many many months for dinner due to a very limited budget.  

The Waitress from the episode & me!

We went to Whiskey Creek Steak House in Keyport, Washington (close to Bremerton).  It was a very cute restaurant, they did a great make over and it was so cool to see what you saw on tv in real life.  It was really small, which on TV I never would have guessed that.  You could tell the 10 grand was not used on the bathrooms.  They were a little run down and I must say it scared me a little that a space heater was blowing on my rear while trying to pee :).  They had a great menu to choose from, we didn't order a steak but people around us did and from what I saw everyone ate every bite.  I believe there was only one cook in the kitchen so it took a little bit to get your food but really I didn't mind it was nice to hang with the family and talk to the staff. LOVED our waitress who was featured on the show and she made us laugh the whole visit.  The prices are a little expensive, we ordered 3 items (boys shared due to not feeling the best) so our bill came up to around $50 which in the previous months would be around 80% of my weekly food budget so it was nice to splurge!  Rick and I thought it was a great place and we actually are planning a date night when we can go back with out the kids, then Rick can order that steak he was drooling over!!

On our way home we decided to head over to Seattle to take the long way home.  That way we could take the ferry and let the kids run around and have a little fun!

Hope you all had an amazing weekend and a wonderful day!

Me vs Spanks ... The Olympics of dressing up

Last week Rick and I got to go on a double date with my best friend and her hubby.  The men love buffet's but we're not big eaters so it's always a waste for us.  She found a local casino had a deal for $12.95 for the month of August.  So we figured that was what we would pay for a normal meal so we can go along.  Going on a date sounds all great until you have to get ready for one.  So we start the Olympics of getting dressed.  Get your Spanks ready here we go (insert some fun music here):

• Do you Wii Zumba (saying a little pray to loose 30 lbs before getting dressed)
• Step on the scale (say a few nasty words) not even close to a 30lb loss
• Get in shower, turn into an acrobat putting legs up to shave them!  
• Step out see you miss a patch have to sit on the tub and try to do a dry shave an nick yourself.
• Say a few more not so nice words look for a band-aid
• Find an Angry Bird one and think yup that is sexy!
• Find a dress you have been praying would fit, put it on husb says you're wearing that? 
• "What do I look bad?" "No it's just fancy" - GIVE him Hair Eyeball
• Take it off second guessing yourself and put on Capri's and feel frumpy
• Go back to dress, now feel self conscious.
• NOW the hunt for Spanks that fit, finally find a pair
• NOW the spanks pull up, FEELING like the lady in Steel Magnolias that looks like 2 pigs wrestling under her dress ... YUP that is how I looked pulling those suckers UP!
• Put on pretty shoes
• Tell the babysitter good bye and hit the car.
• Of course hit traffic and have to sit in said spanks not so comfy
• Hit the casino crawl out of the car praying "Please legs work, let you have circulation" 
• Get in and the cold air hits me and now I must pee ... Damn it sucks getting old
• Hit the bathroom and pray as I roll the spanks down that they don't shoot off like a rubber-band
• Everything goes good, I do have to do the 2 pig dance to get them back up, Knock my head and elbow on the stall but all is good!
• Hit up dinner and actually able to sit for a night of dinner.
• Then of course comes the need to pee again ... YUP we repeat the dance and the knocking of body parts!
• Another ride home and time to release the spanks ... yup those suckers flew off like a rubber-band and on went the pink cupcake PJ's oh yes sexy I am.

Thank God we only go out every few months!  How do ladies wear those every day??

The Weekend we were grounded … UGH

Well Cole had that chip thing at school so we dialed back our weekend.  Thursday Cole’s school had a field trip to Micheal’s craft store and I went along, all the chaperone’s got a coupon plus a list of upcoming events.  Ok that is the back story .. lol.

Cole bless him did rather well didn’t bug me while I worked Saturday AM and stayed quiet most of the day Saturday.  Not wanting to punish Caden we hit Michael's for a pumpkin panting Kid Class.  For $5 each I bought a pumpkin and the kids painted and decorated for 2 hours!  Of course I left my camera at home (just like I did for the field trip … ugh).  But I have the after shots … hehe.

Sunday we went to church, which was a little light all the women went to a retreat Friday – Sunday.  Sadly I couldn’t go with work and kids (maybe next year).  But it was a nice day and my Tuesday dinner Friend even came and meet with me.  I was so excited her and her son came along with me, and I think they had a good time and will come again.

After church we took my boys and her son back to Michael’s for a Free event they were having.  Making Bats with your hand prints!  What a cool idea you can do at home for cheap and keep for memory sake!

Rick and I also had our movie date Thursday night which was so great to get out and he even didn’t mind a movie that was faith based (whoo hoo … that is a big deal).  You all know about the mess we came home to but it was nice to be just us.

Rick even got some home improvements done around the house.  I had those UGLY vertical hanging blinds that get so dirty and you always have to straight them to make sure you can open then slide them over.  I made a run to Ross and picked up a new rod and curtains.  It makes the kitchen look very elegant, I’m so excited.  Plus we loved the new blinds we replaced after the dog tore the others that we bought one for our room, the boys room and my office.  They make the house look so much better and not the cheap plastic ones we had before.

Yeah to Date night got my hair done and shoes on !

Home improvements!

Happy Wednesday, we’re almost to the weekend

Date Night & Mischief Boys

They look so cute don’t they?  Well that is until you leave them with a babysitter all Heck breaks LOOSE!  So Rick and I went on a date night last night!  I was so excited to get to go see Courageous again.  This time I didn’t have to sit in the first row and was able to enjoy the movie.  Rick even actually even said “That was a good Movie”.  He even didn’t mind the religious parts which usually he is like my dad and would stand up and walk out of . So yeah for me!

Now on to the babysitter, we had the girl we use every once in a while.  She is a sweet girl from my old church.  But I think I need to find super babysitter.  I was talking to my friend the other day about how we use to be when we babysat.  Our mom’s drilled into us that we were to play hard with the kids, clean up everything and even do dishes etc.  Now days the girls I’ve had rather sit on the couch. NOW nothing bad about them, but let’s go over what we came home to:

• 9:45pm – Boys STILL up!
• Guest room – Boys must have gotten in there because the room was a mess & Rick’s Legos' are missing.
• Our Room - Rick’s watch collection was down and one missing.  MIND you this was on a shelf taller then Rick in our room.  Which means Cole climbed up on a bench in our room.  Then played in there for a while and made a HUGE mess!
• Kitchen Counter – All of Rick’s things were out of the counter I have them in.
• Our Room – Top Shelf again 2 PACKS of Gum gone … oh yes that means Cole had them in his room!
• Gaming Baskets – All the wii games & ds games and a few other items all over the house.
• Bathroom – counter top full of water
• 2 hours 45 min out of house = Tummy ache from eating popcorn, Head Ache from boys bouncing off the walls & back ache from clean up even more when I get home! A little bit of a bruise on my head from banging it against the wall … UGH UGH

UGH … And people ask why I don’t go out that often?  Because when I come home I have more work then when I left.  Ok Super Nanny I need your cousin Super Babysitter … Would you mind please sending her my way?

Any one else have this problem?  Suggestions?

Weekend Wrap Wednesday ~ Date, Lowes, Playdate & Homemade Playdough!

Another great weekend here it was busy and fun all in one :).

Rick actually called me at 7:30p Thurs to ask me on a date

Thank God babysitter is a saint and came over.

We hit a local comedy club for open mic, not the funnest people but it was still nice!

Saturday was the Lowe's Kids Clinic

Can I say it again HOW much I LOVE these!

We got the chance to go to Rachael's house

for lunch & some running playing.

Sunday I made playdough in the microwave.

I never knew it was this easy, I will be making this again!

See it is this easy!!!

And can be done in the MICROWAVE!!!

Plus it smells good, love the jello scents!!

Make sure to click recipe tab!

I hope you all have a wonderful week!

Every High MUST have a low???

Yesterday started out as any day working in my PJ'S (YES I work from home so no one to dress up for). I'm enjoying my new coffee maker and my cup of coffee thinking today is ok. Caden (knock on wood) is almost 100% potty trained. Rick calls and says hey I'm off early tonight why don't you find a babysitter and we'll go to the comedy club down town? OKEY DOKEY, call a friend from church and her daughter that is in the youth group is available for the night!! I'm on cloud NINE thinking it is a good freaking day!

Then I go to Cole's school to pick him up, I at least combed my hair and put on nicer yoga pants. I don't usually go into the school, I pull up to the door and The teacher waves and Cole comes right out to the car. This time I went in to buy a SCRIPT (A Gift card for major retailer if bought threw the school they get a % and you pay the same amount). I walk in and the teacher walks over with the look NO parents wants to see!!! OH CRAP what happened, usually it's a normal chat Cole was a little hyper today but NEVER more than that. Cole is in the principals office and the principal wants to talk to you! Turns out Cole got in trouble not once but twice! First time he got up when he didn't know the answer and went over to look at a friends paper .... UGH. They worked threw it and went on then the teacher stepped out for a moment to use the bathroom and when she returned a kid said Cole called him a "Weirdo" maybe even with a little song added in! UGH UGH .... Well usually this wouldn't be a big deal he would have to apologize etc, but Cole wouldn't admit he did it! So off to the principals office and sat there for 3 HOURS since he still wouldn't admit it!!!! Ok so the kid even gives me the ebby vibe BUT NO it's not ok to call him a weirdo. Then I find out Cole has been having prob's he get's upset sometimes and tells them he wants to go back to his old school, but mom can't afford it. OOEEYY!!!! Then he sometimes say he didn't take his med's. Oh yes we had a nice ride home and dad even took him a ride and a nice talk!!!! KIDS .... I'm banging my head against the wall right now!

Rick and I did make it out on our date night after I feed the kids and put them to bed before the babysitter was dropped off. It was so nice to get out of the house, we go out maybe 2 times a year so I treasure the moments we can get away. The comedy club was fun and most of the comedians were funny! I ate food I shouldn't have and laughed so overall a good 2 1/2 hours out of the house. It was nice to put my mind at ease for just a little bit.

Rick took the babysitter home and I made myself a yummy cup of hot cocoa, it may have had just a hint of Baileys in it. What? I had a rough day! Prayers or thoughts whatever you may do that Cole has a better day at school today and will be able to move forward and NOT have a day like this again!

This is what I found in my bathroom!

Cole made a heart out of my necklace for me!!!

Got to love that little guy even with a bad day!

WWW ~ Karate, Date Night, Birthday Party and Playdates

Did we really pack that all into our time off? Yet again I threw everything I could into a small amount of time. Oh yes we did :)

We're trying out Karate for Cole

Thankfully 3 day trial $19.95

Date Night happened

Calm your hair down Alexis it happened.

I even wore wedges, hey that is a step up for me!

My friend from elementary school invited us for playdate on FB

Isn't FB awesome!

We hit the town and guess what they had a carnival going on.

YES this is how you do a church carnival.

I bet they didn't have to deal w/ Busy Bees!

After playdate we had to run to a birthday party!

I love my friends parties they are the type you can stay at until night fall.

Yes we did :)

Caden of course went upstairs and played by himself so like his mom

Sunday after church Rachael invited us to play at her house.

Yes the boys took out EVERY toy possible!