Tonight we took the kids to dinner. We used to go out quite a bit, but with my new budget we’ve really had to cut it back. This was my “birthday” dinner out, even though it was 2 weeks late. I was in the mood for Mexican food, and would have been happy with Chevy’s, but we found an On The Border restaurant a whole lot closer to home.

The kids all ordered their grilled chicken with a salad (healthy kids) and I ordered my usual ‘Chevy’ staple…a chimichanga–and honestly–it was AWESOME!! It nipped my tongue a little bit more than the Chevy Chimi, but it was so much better! And the bill came to $30 cheaper than a Chevy’s meal. The Chef enjoyed it better than Chevy’s as well. I think we found our new favorite spot!

The one thing Chevy’s does have over On The Border…the dough balls that they give the kids to play with like Play-doh. That has always been a sanity boost for our family—it will be missed!

We spent the evening Sunday with my niece’s best friend. She just graduated from college and will be moving to London for several months come July 13th. Her English boyfriend was there as well, and they just made a really cute couple. I thought it was so funny when she would talk about her mom’s reaction to her move. She was going to give her mom her car so her mom could sell her own car. Her mom burst in to tears and offered to just ‘borrow’ the car until she came home. She reacts that way whenever she tries to get rid of her stuff.

It wasn’t that long ago I was moving across the ocean from my mom and I have to say, it was freaky as well. Mind you, I wasn’t allowed to call home (that didn’t stop me by any means), but this lucky girl, and her mom can call as often as they need to. They will definitely go through a ton of phone cards before this little adventure is over. With the prices of EVERYTHING being so expensive in London it’s nice to see that there are phone cards available for only 4 cents a minute.

We are betting these two get married, and then who knows how long many months they will spend ‘across the pond’. But imagine the adventure! If I could go back in time, I would still move to Japan. But I would also look into the study abroad programs in Australia or Europe. Once you grow up and have kids, you lose your opportunity!

This year for the second year in a row my husband’s restaurant did a Father’s Day pig roast. This photo is from last year, because this year they had so many reservations that our family wasn’t invited! Not that there would have been an inch available for us. Apparently they had controlled chaos from beginning to end. On top of the Chicago Catering orders they had! He came home exhausted, but I have to say…he was really proud and excited to see the turnout that they had!

I found some great news fro the Chef regarding his beloved Nascar!! Lifelock has recently announced that they have signed a multi-year agreement with Chicagoland Speedway and on the evening of Saturday, July 12, the LifeLock®.com 400 will mark the first ever Sprint Cup Series night race at Chicagoland Speedway. Not only is this exciting news for our area here in Illinois, but it makes a great birthday present for the Chef! I’m always looking for great ideas and sporting events to ‘gift’ him with, and this one will be one of the best.

We’ve all heard of lifelock and the seen the crazy commercials with the CEO giving out his Social Security number…it seems like a great company to have around these days with all of the ID theft going on. They are also looking for “A Few Good Men” and women to come to work for them. This would be a job I would love to look into–unfortunately, with four kids at home–I would have to telecommute, but hey, I would be more than happy to do so!

Whether it’s a great company to have on your side, or a great company to work for…Lifelock is hitting it big!

A week or so ago I wrote a blog post regarding the Shangri La Botanical Garden, and how cool it looked. Well, my sister thought it looked so cool that last week took a trip to the garden in Orange, Texas. She loved it and shared some amazing photo’s of her trip. She had never been to that part of Texas before, and really only went to see the garden. Little did we know before hand that Orange, Texas is the home of the Stark Museum of Art. I’ve only seen it online, but found it amazingly cool that one of their current exhibits is about the Shangri La Botanical Garden that my sister just went to see. The collection with it’s birds and flowers looks as amazing as the garden itself.

Being from the West, I would be interested in the American Indian art collections. I remember we would go to summer camp and spend the day digging for arrow heads–how cool to be able to see so much in one place. The moccasins, quilts, baskets and pottery would be so cool to see up close and personal.

Take a look through the photo gallery from the ‘Media Center’ tab. The images are amazing. I think my favorite is the Grand Canyon on page 5 of the gallery. You really get to see the texture of the canyon walls as well as the never ending expanse of it–it’s just a beautiful photo.

Seeing all of this, I almost wish I would have made the trip with her to spend the day in the Garden and the Stark Museum. Who know Orange, Texas had so much to offer! Check it out for yourself!

How many of you out there get WGN? We get it with locals as well as with the national feed through the satellite. If you get the local feed, then check it out on Monday (Memorial Day) before the parade. Why?? Because the Chef and the kids will be on the morning news! How cool will that be! We aren’t sure it will make it to the national feed, and Nash Bridges is currently on tap for their time slot, but my mom in Utah will be tivo’ing the News at Noon to see if by chance there is a snipet of it there. So hey, if you are in the area…check it out–it should be really cool!

I just joined a great new recipe sharing and storing site online. Mind you–it’s right up my alley, what with cooking blogs galore! What I like the most about this site is that you can upload your own recipe, as I did below–add a photo, a description–and then add the recipe widget to your blog post. Take a look at my first attempt!!

This is exactly what I’ve been looking for, for my new kid cooking blog that I’ve just unleashed upon the net! I was trying to get a fun way to add a photo, as well as a cute little recipe card with the recipe on it. This is even better! I will be using it for all of my recipes for this blog as well as for the new one. I love the format. I love how easy it is to customize. For anyone with a cooking blog, or anyone looking for a way to create and store an online recipe box…this is the site for you! For Cooking Printing and Sharing recipes, this has got to be the easiest format I’ve found. Head on over to keyingredient.com and check it out for yourself!

Tonight the Chef has decided it’s a good night to grill. I love the idea (aside from the happenings in the post three down) and plan to make the famous Onion Blossom recipe from a few months ago. Either that, or I will cut through the hard work, and head up to the Chili’s up the street and just order one to go!! I’m craving it, and with grilled hamburgers and hot dogs, it’s a perfect match.

There is a RS social that I’m supposed to go to later this evening, but with it being the Chef’s last day off of the week, I think I’ll skip it and stay home with the family. Or head off by myself to the movies–mmmmmmmmmm, theater popcorn!!

I mentioned several posts back about getting Grayson’s baptism invitations finished and out. I loved them, they were handmade and had a grid of pictures showing him in chronological order from birth until the age of 8. Melted my heart! As much fun as these cards were to get out to friends and family, they took a TON of time out of my life. My sister had her daughter’s baptism last Fall and she used Photo Cards for her announcements and invitations. Not only were they classy and cute, they were easy to get made and get mailed.

I’ve used this type of card for my Christmas cards every year, but I usually get the single sheet kind that require an additional heavy card as well. I didn’t realize that you could get a photo card as an actual card, and on top of that, get it fully customized as well. I would choose this card for our holiday cards–

I have too many kids with too many different attitudes to even try to get a group photo. So for the past few years I’ve only taken single shots and put them together on the card. I love it–and I love that I can edit the message on the inside to capture my Christmas thought for the year.

Who know someone so steeped in tradition, could be so excited to find something brand new!! I can’t wait to send them out!

For all of you barbecue lovers out there, the Chef’s restaurant will be featured in two different ways this coming week. First off, Chef Paul will be featured as the Chef Du Jour in the Daily Herald this week, and again on the Memorial Day special on WGN.

These types of media attention usually draw in the crowds which is kind of exciting, but it also means that we won’t be seeing the Chef around the homestead for a few weeks!! Good stuff!!