Fruit Fly Remedy

The remedy for fruit flies is the following:

A small dish

A thin layer of Apple Cider Vinegar

A drop of dish soap

A layer of water

Mix gently with your finger

Leave on counter preferably out of the way as to not scare away the fruit flies.

The sweetness of the apple cider vinegar attracts them in and once they take the plunge they will die. They can't survive the environment of the vinegar and the soap.

Repeat as needed. I change it out every day or every other day.

Hope this helps!

Emilie

New Style and New Cooking Joke

In this cartoon I did today, not only did I do a new style, but the chef is wearing a monogramed uniform and the sleeve says "Jeff" on it. You can't really tell from the internet res, but in the high res file it shows up nice.

I hope you like it.

Cindi's 'Ode to 60' at Fritz and Carol's 60th Anniversary 7-11-09 Byron, MN

N. Korean Executed for Handing out Bibles

This article in the chronicle this morning reminds me how lucky we are to live in a country where we are not at constant threat for believing in God.

Check it out here.

The Queen

Like I said in the email, here is the cartoon I just did for a client of mine, the Queen of Quickbooks.

Great article to check out

Hi Clan, Here's a great article on how people all over America are stopping the spending thing and paying down their debt. I found this article and the Ben Stein article on Yahoo Personal Finance page. I also try to read the WallStreet Journal Personal Finance Page and thesimpledollar.com. Sorry I'm so shallow. I need all the encouragement I can get.

Here's the article:

http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/107363/heres-a-switch-americans-who-dont-spend.html?mod=banking-budgeting


This is your Faaaaaather.

Any guesses?

If you had to guess...what was the #1 gift given to Brandon from our friends for his Birthday????

Beer.

The little it takes to please him. I, on the other hand, gave him an "Old Style" T-Shirt. He is saving the money he got for his B-day for when he goes to Princeton in a few weeks and goes out on the Manhattan town. One of these days I will need to go with him to visit New York!! I can't believe I've missed out on it twice!

I'm just hanging out this Saturday night...trying to scrub stains out of the carpet for the next people who will be living on the third floor, listening to my neighbors blast really horrible hip-hop music, put away all the bottles (it's time b/c Alyas is just too old in my opinion for a bottle...I'll reserve one for emergencies though), make more lists of all the things I need to do, and maybe I'll go to bed before midnight.....

Good night folks.

Missing My Wife

Just a note to the clan to point out that your mother has been on the road for a week and I'm missing her. Now you can see why I have had a record number of posts this week. I've enjoyed interacting with everyone this way. It's pretty cheap entertainment. Thanks. Dad, Bing, etc.

Quick, Easy, Great Tasting and Cheap Crock Pot Chili

This post is especially for Marty, who's trying to kick up his frequency of cooking and just bought a crock pot. This recipe is sans onions so both you and Emilie can benefit:

Ingredients:

-1 packet French's Chili-O Seasoning (Cub carries it; Fareway doesn't. I found it online. There are other chili mixes you could try. All the grocery stores have a half-dozen brands. You can always just use 1 tablespoon of chili powder in a pinch, instead.)

-1/2 ground hamburger (you can use 1 whole pound, but since you are trying to save money, 1/2 pound will do and then make hamburgers or Maid-Rites with the rest and get two more meals out of it.)

-1 can (15 oz) diced tomatoes

-1 can Mrs. Grimes Chili Beans (We get these in the midwest and they are awesome. If you don't get these in California you'll have to experiment. Your grocery store probably has several brands. Some people use kidney beans. I prefer not. Emilie likes them without beans at all. If you go that way add another can of diced tomatoes or tomato juice

-add as much Tomato juice or V-8 as you want to get the texture you want. If you want it thick, don't add any. If you want it a little juicy add a couple of cups.

Directions:

While you fry up the crumbled hamburger, empty the cans and spices to the crock pot and turn on low. When the hamburger is near fried (don't burn it or over cook it) add to the crock pot. Stir, cover and go to work. This can cook all day on low and will taste awesome. It makes four servings. Eat one serving tonight. Take one to work tomorrow. Add some Velvetta cheese and have it with tostata chips for the next night. Freeze one and have it for lunch the following week. When microwaving a serving a few days later or after freezing it, add a little water to get the consistency you want. Enjoy.

Serving Suggestions:

-add shedded cheese or sour cream or both to the hot chili, in your bowl right before eating
-serve with corn bread, crackers, tostata chips, or oyster crackers
-add to a hot dog for a chili dog
-melt one part chili and one part Velveeta cheese to make a party dip for tostata chips. If you are by yourself, have your own party. Be sure and invite yourself!

Cost:

1 packet of chili seasoning 1.29
1/2 pound hamburger $1.25
1 can diced tomatoes .89
1 can chili beans .89
2 cups tomato juice .50
Total cost: 4.82
Cost per serving $1.21, unless you add sour cream, shredded cheese or crackers or tostata chips. If you use chili powder instead (cost est. at .25 per batch) your cost per serving would be $.95.

Challenge:
Can anyone of you come up with a better tasting meal for less money? I'd love to see it.

This is your faaaather.

Ranting As An Artform

Okay...you can tell when I don't have clients. I've had two no-shows in a row. It's been awhile since that happened. Otherwise, it's been a good week so I'm not worried.

This rant is in response to Brandon's earlier rant about nothing, which I thought was a clever idea and I was honored that he would imitate my writing style in his first blog. Rants are two types: The Machine Gun and the Long, Slow Drowning.

The Machine Gun approach is where you say
brief
to the point
statements that get attention
and cause the reader to become overwhelmed
as item after item
slams against their brains
until they scream for mercy
but they keep reading anyway
looking for some relief
hoping against hope
until finally
there is
an unexpected relief valve
or perhaps no relief at all
it just depends.

The Long, Slow Drowning is where in one sentence the writer goes on and on about the opposite of what the ranter believes or practices or encourages, pointing out subtly the error in a particular world view or stance or slice of life or lifestyle or choice taking it's logic to it's unforeseen conclusion so that the reader can finally see the error of his ways while all the time the writer is quite aware that even though this is the writer's goal, the reader may take the rant in the wrong way and judge the writer as arrogant and self-absorbed which is one of the subtle purposes of the rant, namely, to expose the hypocrisy of hypocrisy that as the judger is judging he is breaking his own tenants, so that later, when the rantee can't sleep at night because of the ever so slight twinge of conscience that was pricked by reading the rant, the rantee may come to his senses and no longer need to be the subject of said rant.

Or not.

Heartsick

Dear Clan,
I am heartsick that my "Entry Level Scalloped Potatoes and Ham" has been posted for a day or two and there's not been one comment. Surely, it is the winning recipe for Marty's new kitchen appliance. The recipe is just dangling all by itself in cyberspace longing for some companionship.

Bing-Daddy

The Younger You

Hey, Clan, I just posted a link to a really great article I came across on YaHoo Finance. I wrote the following on my regular blog. I'm posting it here in hopes that all of you will take the time to read it. Ben Stein has some of that classic Jewish wisdom of the ages that is worth pondering. Dad

Ben Stein has a wonderful article on Yahoo today titled: “How to Not Ruin Your Life: Get It Right Today, Be Glad Tomorrow.“ He says we can’t wait for anyone else to take care of us when we get old: not our inheritance from our parents, our kids, the government or anyone else. The only one we can rely on is the Younger You. He discusses how the Younger You needs to prepare to take care or the Older You and that right NOW you are the Younger You! Here’s a brief quote and the URL. Give it a go:

Sometimes, when I contemplate the damage done by the recession, the stock market collapse and the utter rout in real estate, I get really scared. Who is there to take care of me if things get even worse? Who on earth is there to take care of me the way I take care of so many others?

Then, my old dad comes to mind. “You are there to take care of you,” he once said. “The younger you is there to take care of the older you by virtue of the assets you accumulated when you were young…

This is a powerful lesson for us all. If we want to have a decent life in our latter years, especially with Social Security and Medicare nearing collapse, we need to accumulate while we are young. We most of all need to accumulate habits of sensible living — and especially not spending beyond our means.
http://finance.yahoo.com/expert/article/yourlife/177033

Happy Birthday Mom!

Entry Level Scalloped Potatoes and Ham

Here's the winning recipe for your new crock pot, Marty. No other entries need apply. This one is as simple as can be. All you need is:

-4-5 potatoes peeled (do you know how to peel a potato? Let me know. Scalloped Potatoes and Ham with the peels does not appeal (Ha! Ha!) to me.). Slice them up. How I do it is slice the potato in half lengthwise. Lay the flat part of the half of the potato down on the cutting board. Cut in 1/8 inch width slices, so they are the size of half-dollars or thereabouts.
-1 tablespoon flour (Do you even have flour, Marty? If not, you'll have to buy like 5 pounds. Do you have something to put the flour in? If not you can order some containers from Target. If you are going to start cooking you will find things to make out of flour, so you will use it. If you want to cheat a little you could buy Bisquick and use that in place of flour. There's lots of things you can make out of Bisquick including biscuits and pancakes. Then you wouldn't have to buy and store so much flour.)
-1/4 to 1/2 pound ham, sliced (I like to use ham that is a little thicker than deli sliced. Your meat market will have ham in many different flavors and thicknesses. I use ham sliced about 1/8 in thick. You can buy a pound and use the rest for breakfast sandwiches, dice it for an omelet or add to scrambled eggs and cheese, or make sandwiches out of it, or (remember this from your childhood?) butter a bun and broil it for a minute to melt the butter and add a slice of ham and Velvetta cheese and broil it in the oven until the cheese starts to brown. You can get about 5 meals out of a pound of ham. It's a great deal and tastes good and keeps longer than turkey and it's easy to adapt to other meals.)
-enough milk to cover the potatoes and ham in the crock
-a dolop of butter (about a tablespoon)
-black pepper to taste (It won't need salt as the ham has enough salt in it already. Marty, keep in mind that black pepper to taste is like a teaspoon or even less. NOT several tablespoons. Oh, the lament of sausage gravy and biscuits gone bad!)

Directions:

Mix the potatoes and ham together and put in the bottom of your crock pot.
Put the flour or Bisquick in a coffee cup and pour it half full of milk and stir the two together til the flour and milk make a liquid paste.
Pour flour and milk mixture over the potatoes and ham and add enough milk to cover the potatoes and ham.
Cook on low heat in your crock for 4 hours or so. This is a Saturday or Sunday meal. Don't cook it all day for 14 hours or you'll end up with mush.

Serve with canned corn or canned green beans.

Leftovers:

Put serving size portions in plastic contains with lids. Let cool before you put the lid on and then put them in the fridge. Will keep several days. I've never froze these. I'm guessing this meal doesn't freeze well.

To serve leftovers: Before heating in microwave add a couple of tablespoons of milk or water. Stir occasionally. If too dry add more milk or water.

Variations:

-Shred a cup or so of Velvetta cheese and mix in for a cheesy flavor
-Add the corn or beans to the dish and cook together
-Fry up some hamburger or breakfast sausage and use instead of ham
-Add mushroom soup or sour cream or both (reduce the milk some if you do this)
-Pour the cooked Scalloped potatoes and ham into a 9-inch baking dish and add bread crumbs and some shredded cheese to the top and broil it in the oven a few minutes til brown before serving
-(If in a hurry:) Put the whole thing in the 9-inch baking dish and bake at 350 degrees for an hour and don't use the crock pot at all

Let me know how it turns out. This is a family favorite.

Taste of Tomorrow

Here is tomorrow's cartoon. I'm giving you a sneak preview.

It's a Crock!

As some of you know. I bought a crock pot for my birthday. Or actually Grandma Marcella bought me the crock pot for Christmas, since I'm only now getting around to using the Target gift card she gave me for my birthday last Saturday.

That being said I need some crock pot recipes. Keep in mind I may substitute carrots, peas or beans for any onions in the recipe. I don't know if you know this or not, but I don't like onions. I'd like to open this blog up to the 1st Annual Quarterly Bi-Weekly Crock Pot Recipe Competition Extravaganza. Each of the willing bloggers will submit their recipe submission via this blog and after the course of time at my leisure I will pick a winning recipe that will make the 1st voyage in my new Hamilton Beach 4-quart crock pot with a digital display and extra long cord.

And that's not all! The winner will also receive one serving of the winning recipe in a zip lock bag sent to them via USPS ground.

I look forward to all your submissions.

Brandon's First blog

Well,

After many years of trying to avoid blogging, Marty has convinced me that I basically suck as a human being unless I am communicating to those that I love. So here it is. The first Brandon Wall blog. You may be thinking that I am going to say something important, or perhaps you are thinking that I will say something really funny to which you will then laugh uncontrollably to the point that you fell like you have to go to the bathroom, but you would be wrong because I have nothing to say and so I am trying to do pull a Bing and just write really long ranting sentences that are sometime fun to read, but in this case not so fun because 1) it is not that good of a sentence, 2) it is full of grammar errors that I do not care to fix, 3) it is really not saying anything and not going anywhere, 3) it is now listing and pontificating why it sucks, 5) it is trying to use big words to impress on the ladies that will be reading this, 3.5) it is trying to pull a Bing when in fact it is not coming even close and is now repeating what it has already said, 5) and because the writer of this sentence is running out of things to say, but feels compelled by guilt of not blogging for so long, that he now beginning to say say things in Latin: amo, amara, puella ipsum est substitence and has in fact misspelled several of the Latin words, which make it even worst since if someone is going to use Latin in their first blog to impress all the ladies that will be reading this (perhaps mom, philly, Emily, and Marty) they should at least use it rightly and not misspell words and not just list random case endings without saying in thing meaningful, for what's the point of learning Latin and using it in your first blog post that is trying to fulfill your duties as a brother, a father, son, and husband if you are not going to say anything sweet that causes people (i.e., those that have read this far) to ponder the cosmos (they he goes again, but his time he is using Greek) and want to grow in virtue.

Steak Sandwich and Onion Rings from Food Network

Dear Clan,

I was home for a couple hours on Fri afternoon and took a nap and watched the Food Network, which I never do during the day. Usually all I watch is Diners, Drive-Ins and Drives on Saturday or Sunday night. But Tyler's Ultimate was on. I'd never seen it, though the chef looked familiar. He had this amazing steak sandwich going and the onion rings looked like they need to be tried, so I went on-line and copied them here so I could find them later. I'm sorry if I got carried away. Anyway, this is on my list to try.

Bing

Ultimate Steak Sandwich

Episode TU0311H (Food Network)

Tyler redefines the allure of a famous Philly favorite by elevating classic cheesesteaks into gourmet territory. For a crunchy companions, Tyler's serving a fresh fennel slaw and a stack of golden onion rings. Steak Sandwich with Cheddar Horseradish Sauce and Arugula Mayo; Fennel Slaw; Tempura Battered Onion Rings.

Ingredients

Gruyere bechamel:

• 1/2 stick unsalted butter
• 3 heaping tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 cups whole milk
  
• 2 cups grated Gruyere
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon prepared horseradish

Arugula mayonnaise:

• 1 bunch baby arugula
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise

Steak Sandwich:

• 2 soft hoagie rolls
  
• Extra-virgin olive oil
  
• 1/2 pound rib-eye, finely sliced
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 recipe Fennel Slaw, recipe follows

Directions

Make the bechamel cheese sauce: Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and stir constantly to incorporate - you do not want any color. Gradually pour in the milk as you stir, and whisk out any lumps. As the mixture thickens up continue to stir until it reaches a boil - this ensures the flour is cooked completely. Dump in the cheese and stir for another minute until the cheese is completely melted. Stir in the horseradish and season with salt and pepper, then set aside to keep warm.

Make arugula mayonnaise: Put arugula in a food processor with the lemon juice and salt and pepper. Top with mayonnaise and process until well combined. Give it a taste and adjust seasoning if required.

Prepare the steak: Take the finely sliced steak and shingle it out into 2 portions on a clean cutting board lined with parchment. Put the shingled meat between 2 pieces of plastic wrap and pound out using either a saute pan or a meat mallet. After first pounding, remove the plastic wrap, fold in the edges, replace plastic and pound the meat some more. Store wrapped in plastic in the refrigerator. Now the meat is ready when you want to cook it.

Heat a large, flat grill-pan over medium heat. Split hoagie rolls in half, drizzle with olive oil and place onto griddle.

Take the meat out of the refrigerator. Peel off 1 side of the plastic wrap and season with salt and pepper. Put this side down in the pan and then quickly peel off the other side of the plastic wrap and season again. Cook slowly in the pan until juicy and tender and just past pink in color. Turn the meat over and then fold with some of the cheese sauce.

To serve, smear each half of the roll with arugula mayonnaise. Top the bottom with the steak and cheese, then lay a scoop of fennel slaw over the top.

Fennel Slaw:

• 1 large fennel bulb, fronds removed and halved
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 3 heaping tablespoons sour cream
• 1 bag coleslaw mix
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon leaves
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Finely slice fennel using a mandoline, or the grater attachment on your food processor. In a large mixing bowl combine the lemon juice, mayonnaise, and sour cream and stir to combine. Add the finely sliced fennel and coleslaw mix, herbs, and olive oil and fold together. Season with salt and pepper.

Yield: 4 servings

Tempura Battered Onion Rings

Recipe courtesy Tyler Florence, 2007

Show: Tyler's UltimateEpisode: Ultimate Steak Sandwich

Ingredients for frying

Oil for frying

• 2 large sweet (Vadalia) onions, cut into 1/2-inch thick rings, thin skins removed
• 1 1/2 cups rice flour, plus more, for dredging
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 tablespoon baking soda
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 cup beer (use enough until you get pancake batter consistency)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more for seasoning
• Freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Fill a large Dutch oven or fryer with oil and preheat to 350 degrees F.

Sift dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl and make a well in the center. Crack the egg yolk into a separate bowl and break it up with a fork. Add this to the well in the middle of the flour and slowly pour in the beer as you whisk. Gradually make wider circles with the whisk to incorporate the dry ingredients from the edges - this will minimize the chance of lumps. Continue until all the dry ingredients are mixed and the batter is of a smooth consistency.

Take the onion rings and remove the thin membrane found between the layers; (otherwise the batter won't stick as well). In a large dish add some rice flour, and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Coat each ring in the flour. Dip in the batter and fry in hot oil in batches until golden. Drain on paper towels and season with salt.

Pinnacle of Sign Making

My 31st Birthday

Here are the plans that are set for my birthday which is this weekend. I will be working on Friday, for a group of friends from my bible study, BNI, and work we are getting together at Houston's Restaurant which has outdoor seating on the Embarrcadero facing the Bay. I've been there before and its a pretty happening place. You can check it out at the Houston's website here.

From there whom ever from the dinner group wants to join, we are going to the Oxidental cigar bar up on Pine street for cigars and drinks. This is the last planned stop for me and I'd go home from there once things have died down.

The following day (my birthday) Dan Wheeler, Ray Simon, another to be named, and myself are teeing off at Harding Park Golf Course which at 1:05pm. Harding Park is located down by Lake Merced and is the home of the American Express Championship of 2007 which Tiger Woods won. Its one of the nicer courses in town, although I haven't been to any of the private golf courses. I haven't played golf since my birthday last year so no doubt I will be very rusty. It should be very embarrassing for me. Many of you can take satisfaction in my humiliation. Philly you may take joy in my pain.

After golf I will go home and cry myself to sleep on my huge pillow, eat cookie dough, and watch my dvd's of Family Matters.

That is pretty much it for my bash. I thought since none of you can be there you'd like to know how I'm celebrating the year of my birth.

Marty on the Fourth

My fourth of July was a blast. First we started off at the Fillmore Jazz Festival where we saw a couple stages of music and I had 48oz of beer. We had pizza a Dino's then went to Russian Hill for ice cream. Then up to the roof at my buddy Matt's place to watch firework that were being performed at Fisherman's Warf. we had a pretty clear view all the way to Sausilito and we saw their show too.

Here's a photo I took with my phone from the Fillmore.




Here is a photo from my buddy Jason's camera. It looks like armageddon on Russian Hill.

Happy Fourth!

Alyas' latest hat...purchased in the great state of Texas...this little man is a true American today! Watch out England!

Update on Egg Bacon WallMuffin

I forgot to tell you how to make the soon-to-be-famous Egg Bacon Wall Muffin:

I spray a cereal bowl with Pam and then crack open an egg into it. Meanwhile, I'm toasting the English Muffin. I swirl the egg around and mix it up with a fork and microwave it for 33 seconds (that's how long it takes most eggs to cook in our microwave. I don't want to overcook it). I then toast the English Muffin again cuz I like them toasty. Then I cut the egg in half, put a quarter piece of bacon on each side and put the white American cheese on top (I cut the cheese in half and put one half on each side). Then I zap this for 12 seconds. Then I butter and cut the English Muffin and put half of the egg/bacon/cheese deal on each side and wrap it it the aluminum foil where it continues to cook for a bit. I cut it in half because it's easier to eat on the road or at work that way.

I can't believe I gave directions how to make one of these, but you never know.

FYI

Brandon, Alyas, and I will be flying out of the country officially on September 14th from Minneapolis! We bought our tickets today...one way trip for $367 each (flying home we'll have to pay for Alyas b/c he'll be over 2, lucked out this time)! We will fly out at 7:20pm, fly over night to Iceland, have an hour layover and on to London...arrive 11:45 their time! I'm sure we'll be staying in Ames a day or so before we head up to the cities (if that's ok of course)....oh and I'm pretty sure we're going to need a ride. :^)

4th of July Weekend

Hi Clan, Your mom and I are going camping to Adventureland campground Fri-Sun. We've done this on the weekend of the 4th before. One night we see fireworks from Adventureland and one night we see fireworks from Prairie Meadows. They have nice bathrooms and a pool and they always have room. Wish any of you could join us. Your mom is going to laze at the pool, I'll crash with a book in the shade being that I'm a skin cancer patient for life. Me and the sun have an issue. If it was 100 degrees we wouldn't go but it's supposed to be around 80 during the day which is perfect. Hope you all have a nice 4th. Love, Dad, etc.

Initiation by the Faaattthhher!

Another thought came upon me while I was reading, Wild At Heart. Initiation has been something Bing Daddy has done for us children for many years. As I read this book, I was reminded of the times Dad would say, "You have been initiated into the family" Times like, camping in the Boundary Waters at the end of May. Where we struggled to canoe across a big lake or lakes to the perfect destination spot; where we could set up camp in the freezing cold and jump off a cliff into the water. We struggled because we had to canoe against the wind both there and back. There was nothing like a Mt. Dew or Coke after a long struggle in the wind. I believe that was how Philly was initiated. It made me proud to read in this book how important it was for boys to be initiated by their fathers. It gives them a sense of manhood, belonging and approval from their role model. It made me proud that we, as children, didn't have to ask our dad for initiation and or approval. He just gave it to us. Not just once, but time and time again. This also explains why the students that I try to teach from time to time will act out, desperate for attention. They haven't been approved or given the official initiation by their fathers. They strive to find their place in this world and long to be okayed by their dad and the majority of them never will because they have never met their biological father or have been beaten up by them. I have seen in my experience that if I use the students' name and ask them how their day was they seem to feel more at home and start to open up. I may just start having initiation ceremonies during my semesters for these students to have a place in this world where they have been initiated into something...even if it is "just home ec." So here's to a Dad that did a lot of things right. Happy belated FAAATTTHHHEERRRs Day, Dad you deserve a cheer!

Connected to the Wall family world

I have officially added all three Wall blogs to my I Pod Touch. I can read all of your blogs while sitting at my chair or in the bathroom if I wanted (ewww!). I Pod, you changed my life. It is so much fun being able to read what you are all thinking or what is happening in your life. The downfall...I haven't figured out how to post from my I Pod. I am still working on that. But at the very least it will give me access to your lives with one or two touches of a little device.

As for the 4th of July, I am going to Forest Lake to visit with Cassi and her family. I am not sure what other things I am going to over the long weekend, but I am sure laundry will be one of them. The weather has been pretty cold, but I am hoping it will warm up so I can Rollerblade again.

What I'm Doing for the 4th

What I am doing for the 4th of July is going over to my buddy Matt's house to play Nintendo Wii, eat food, and go up to the roof of his apartment building to watch the fire works as they shoot over the bay/fisherman's warf. Last year we did the same thing and there was so much fog that you couldn't see two buildings away...but we could hear the fireworks. I'll get pics if there is no fog.

What are guys doing?

Egg Bacon WallMuffin

Hello Children:

Yeah, I've been making our version of the Egg McMuffin for your mom for a hot breakfast to go for about a year or so. I wrap them in aluminum foil and they stay warm for over 15 minutes. They are cheap cheap cheap and quick and you know how much we like a hot breakfast:

Standard McDonalds Egg McMuffin 2.29

The Wall Version:
-1 large egg .08
-1 English Muffin .12 (we buy them from Fareway: 12 for $1.49.)
-1 Slice America Cheese .10 (We've discovered white American at Super Wal-mart)
-1 Slice bacon or ham .20 (we buy a pound of bacon, fry it on the grill so as to not stink up the house, let it cool and put it in a zip lock bag for future breakfasts or salads or whatever. We buy a nicely sliced ham from Fareway, sliced a little thicker than deli style. It's great on these, as stand alone sandwiches for lunch or fried up with some eggs or in scalloped potatoes. It's a staple we buy every week.)
-1 piece of aluminum foil (we bought sandwich foil or some such at Sams Club. There's like 500 in a pack so it'll last till the millenium. The foil is a nice touch as it keeps the sandwich warm for quite a while.)

Total cost for a Egg Bacon WallMuffin: .50 or 22% of the cost or roughly 5 homemade ones to one bought McBoring and they are homemade and quite good and, you know, you got the aluminum foil. Hard to beat.

This is your Faaaaather.