Electric Slide!

You can't see it
It's electric!
You gotta feel it
It's electric!
Ooh, it's shakin'
It's electric!

This is the Victor M2524 electric box of death for mice. And my new
favorite toy.
Mouse #2 was Rosenberged by this bad boy, and its flashing green light
of death put me into hyperventitexting mode once again. No one was
around to dump the dead mouse. Apparently when starting a text with,
"can you come over and dump a dead mouse in the trash" the replies of
"yes, I'll be right over" are slow coming. So, I asked my neighbor if
he'd help, and since he's a sheriff and has seen much worse, I didn't
feel too badly about the favor.
24 hours later and no flashing light. Considering there isn't any
other evidence of mouse activity, I think they're gone.

It's electric!

Living tissue, warm flesh...Weird Science!

Worst case scenario: While swimming with the kids in the backyard, I
locked myself out of the house-wearing only a bikini. The only extra
set of keys were with David...in Vermont. Long story short, my mom
saved the day and got us inside.
"Worser" Case Scenario: That same night, after tucking my kids into
bed, I went to the kitchen to pour myself a glass of Coppola wine to
sip while I watched chick flicks, I saw a flash of light grey zip
across my backsplash. A mouse. Might as well have been an anaconda
because I ran to the back bedroom and hyperventitexted all of my
family members (including David) to race to my home and save us. Jett,
like a good son, mirrored all of my emotions. Jorja said, "I wanna see
the mouse!" But it was my Mom and Dad who saved the day, making a
human shield as I bolted out the front door. The kids and I stayed the
night at my parents' house. Don't judge...
David instructs me, from the other side of the country where I'm
certain varmint don't live, to buy glue traps. He likes these because
they don't kill the mouse and then he can massage their little feet
out with vegetable oil and release them in a nearby field (true story)
where they can go find the secret of Nimh. Sorry, Charlie, but I'm
going Rosenberg on these suckers!!!
My sister, who now lives in the country and is like the mouse
whisperer (who knew?) introduces me to the electric chair mouse trap:
a black box that entices them in with promises of chunky peanut butter
but delivers a lethal jolt. And it's so easy to dispose of the corpse!
You just call your dad and he takes the black box outside and when he
comes back in, it's empty!!!
Already killed one and I'm excited to go back and see if the light is
flashing (signifying death) once again.
Although this post has nothing to do with food, or my obsession with
my weight, it's been so life altering that I forgot to eat.

Don't You Forget About Me

So here are a couple restaurants I was either too tired or didn't have phone service to post.

The Garlic Onion Tortilla Cake is a Guy Fieri signature appetizer and if you don't feel like waiting 24 hours for it to set and make it at home, you can order it at his restaurant Johnny Garlic's (there are several locations, but we ate at the one in Windsor, CA). It was really good, and free I might add, due to the hotel's recommendation. The food at his place is flavor heavy, relying on onion, garlic and herbs to really flavor the food. Although it was very tasty, it was a little over priced for what it was.

Johnny Garlic's Homepage

Garlic Onion Tortilla Cake Appetizer Recipe

1285 Restobar and Trattoria, in the adorable town of Florence, OR is a most fitting Italian restaurant where David ate his favorite meal of the trip: herb crusted Halibut. I was not feeling so awesome (could it be the food and beer?) and had a boring salad. After seeing their pizzas, I wish I had ordered one of those. The Italian Wedding Cake was also a great non-overly sweet dessert. Service is a little slow, but everyone was very friendly and accommodating. Patio diners even have blankets to wrap themselves up to stay warm.  The town of Florence has many historic buildings, miles of dunes and a beautiful view of the water.

1285 Restobar and Trattoria

Florence, OR

Pictured below is our experience at Buster Burgers in Willits, CA.  Fried food doesn't photograph well, but David always judges a burger joint by their onion rings, and I thought these were nice and crunchy and a little sweet.  The California dog is covered in all things yummy: tomatoes and avocado.  The burger consumers were very happy and once again, one of the beers on tap was a Scrimshaw Pilsner. Hopefully the BevMo in Fresno has some Scrimshaw because this is my new favorite beer.

Where the grass is green and the girls are pretty

The wedding went off without a hitch. Except the wedding crashers who stole the cupcake toppers. And then there was the second set of wedding crashers. And the boy who took a whiz in the bushes...during the first dance. It's no wonder the state motto is "She flies with her own wings." Who are these people?

Other than that, everyone had a great time. Dancing, running in the grass, playing tag and falling with glee. The kids had fun, too.

King Estate Winery is a 100% Organic Operation



Hungry like the wolf

Although I've spent the last 10 hours in this car obsessing over how

much I've eaten and just how large Marge I'm feeling, I had to take

one for the team and eat at Jamie's Bar and Grill in Sac. A true

dive...

Anita and Glen left Oregon a little bit after us, but managed to catch

up to us at the same exact time in Sacramento. How, you ask? They

didn't stop! They held their pee since Oregon!!!! Do they have a

catheter in that truck?

I ordered the garlic filet steak sandwich. Garlic is infused into the

bread and steak!!! I was so hungry I didn't take the time to snap a good shot of the food. Watch the episode below to see how he makes it. Jamie offers special touches such as mayo

piped fancy-like on the plate, but doesn't even have a sign out front

on the building. Doesn't seem to deter anyone from eating here.

At our table we had clam chowder (creAmy!!!), halibut fish n chips and

NY steak. Scrumptious! I could only eat half my sandwich, but since

the diet starts tomorrow, I'm planning on eating the other half around Modesto.

Jamie's Broadway Grille
Diners, Dives and Drive In Episode

My back is broad, but it's a hurting

I had to turn off that #%^* movie Wall-E because the last thing I want
to see right now is a movie about fat people on a galactic cruise.
STUPIDEST MOVIE EVER!
So we stopped at some hillbilly gas station in rural Oregon and David
tells us to grab whatever snacks we want to eat. He has the nerve to
point out to me they serve fried burritos and corn dogs. To which my
reply is you're not sitting in the back watching a movie about fat
people. The only non-cookie, non-potato chip, non fried snack they had
was cat food. Whitefish tuna is low in saturated fat, right? The label
was completely lacking in pertinent information, such as calories and
carbs, so I didn't risk it and stuck with a humongous diet pepsi and
put on a different movie. One about thin people.

Feel like a natural woman

Here's a pic of me after all the eating I've done on this trip. I'm so
upset! Even after a good waxing I need to lose a couple of lbs.
I'm riding in the car, beating myself up over my girth, and then I
look at the TV screen playing Wall-E and there are all these fat
people on scooters. Ugh! Ugh! Ugh!
David's telling me right now this is what would happen if I were to go
on a cruise for over a week. He just doesn't like cruises and is
trying to squash my dreams of going on a Disney cruise someday. Ugh!

The waffle truth

Rod and Teresa took us to "Off the Waffle" in Eugene for breakfast: a kitschy, everything waffle oriented cafe. One reason they chose the place was for its "kid friendliness," which my kids took full advantage of.
These waffles have maply sweetness grilled into the crust. I'm not a maple syrup fan, so the flavor was subtle and just enough for me. I ordered the spinach Havarti omelette with waffle, but when my mom received her "Cyclops" waffle and realized she forgot to get her egg over medium we switched. An oozy egg over easy, dripping onto something crunchy is my idea of an ideal breakfast so it was NO sacrifice on my part.
Off the Waffle
You Tube Off the Waffle

Little darling/The smiles return to the faces

Chicken dance!

No wedding is complete without the chicken dance and chicken dinner, but this did not taste like wedding chicken. Juicy, beautiful and accompanied with carrots and sautéed mushrooms. King Estate is known for their pinots and the Pinot Gris was a nice compliment.

When the moon hits your eye...

As if a wedding in the middle of a winery and its meadow wasn't enough fun for two kids, check out the kids meal at the wedding.

White wedding

An Oregon wedding at King Estate Winery...
Clever...
Almost as clever as Spanx, the only reason I can fit in my outfit.

I tried to get David to wear something crazy, and he searched for the least crazy hat he could find: a straw hat. So while the rest of us look like we're having a crazy, fun time, David looks like he should be picking grapes.

King Estate Winery, Eugene, OR

Welcome to the jungle

Game Park Safari in Bandon, Oregon on the southern Oregon coast.
At this petting zoo, the goats, rams, reindeer, deer, peacocks, burros and llamas roam free and if you're holding food, will chase you down. As we entered, the park employee warned us, "The kids may be overwhelmed by the animals." To which my reply was, "The animals will be overwhelmed by my kids!" Being David "Dr. Doolittle" Miller's children, the kiddos had no problem getting up close and personal with all the animals (however, they are afraid of the hand dryers in the bathroom). Towards the end, when Jett's spending money was burning a hole in his pocket, and he whined, "I wanna go shopping!" I felt reassured that my kids are a little like me, too.
Here is a pic of us petting an 11 week old tiger cub, among other creatures. The hat is a stylish coincidence.

This Lion is in MAJOR need of a combout!

Game Park Safari

I lost my mind in Oregon

Uh-huh
Uh-huh
Can you believe this is what my kids ate? Potato pancakes with herb chevre cream and topped with prosciutto. Although it's great that my kids eat food like this, I'm pretty sure we are going to $PAY$ for this when they are teenagers...

Well Oregon and sloe gin fizz/if that ain't love then tell me what is

Uh-huh
Uh-huh
At the Redfish Restaurant in Port Orford, Oregon.
Hand made burger topped with caramelized Vidallia onions, applewood smoked bacon, Tillamook cheddar on a French panini. And to drink: Clover Club
I heart Oregon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Redfish Website

The four of us ate brunch, with two cocktails, for $40...and no sales tax! I heart Oregon.