May Top Commenter Winners!

1st Place - 3 Week Free Ad.
2nd Place - 2 Week Free Ad.
3rd Place - 1 Week Free Ad.

Here are the results:

3 way tie for first place, so all 3 ads will run for 3 weeks.

Lin @ Duck and Wheel With String 3 Week Ad spot.
Stacey @ All Stace, All The Time 3 Week Ad spot.
Harriet @ Harriet And Friends 3 Week Ad spot.

Congratulations to the winners! Ads will be up shortly.

Just a reminder to everyone that my Top Commenter Contest will be running in May, so now is your chance to stake out your spot at the counter or grab a booth.

Feel free to copy this contest and link back to me to give me credit for it!

Lola's Diner©2008-2010

No longer a camping virgin

And I have to say...I love it! We really had a great time. I went camping with my girlfriend. (No kids!)

We did hit a snag, and had to start out Saturday morning, instead of Friday night, but it was beyond our control. We hit Palace Campgrounds in Galena, IL late morning and set about to find the perfect, shady spot to park the pop-up camper and set up camp in the primitive camping area. (No electric hook-up, etc.) Our first attempt at parking the camper failed, due to the primitive camping area being quite hilly. Our second attempt, just off the dirt road under some trees was perfect, except that we were at a bit of an angle. It made cooking a bit of a challenge in the camper, but we managed. It also caused us to joke endlessly about the mount and dismount of the seats and table in the camper. Due to the angle, we had a bit of maneuvering to get into the seats and had to be on the lookout for sliding pencils and beverages.

As we were setting up the trailer we were treated to music and singing, courtesy of our camping neighbor. They had an acoustic guitar and a banjo. I joked with my girlfriend that maybe they were Deadheads. (She's a big Grateful Dead fan.) She's like 'yeah, right'. Next thing you know, our camping musicians break into a Dead tune. My girlfriend was laughing and shaking her head. They also did several Beatles' tunes, Arlo Guthrie, Dusty Springfield, and some things I didn't recognize, but it was awesome nonetheless. Stairway to Heaven, Blackbird, Yellow Submarine, Come Together, This Land Is Your Land, The Look Of Love. After awhile, I jokingly confessed that I hired the musicians to make our romantic camping getaway complete. When my girlfriend asked how I knew we'd end up in that spot, what if she would have gotten into that first camping spot? I said I didn't want to be negative, but I didn't think we'd get up that hill with the trailer. Lol!

The banjo player even hopped on the hayride wagon and treated fellow riders to some music as they rode around the campground.

So, a few shots from our trip:

05/30/10 hot air balloons over the trees viewed from our campsite.

05/30/10 Sunset

05/30/10 Cooking breakfast on an angle.

I also took a video of one of the songs we were treated to. Not great video because I took it on the sly from behind the van, but I think you can still get the idea of what we experienced. Great musicians. We overheard one of them say that they studied at The Academy of Music.



It was a great weekend and I look forward to future camping trips.

Lola's Diner©2008-2010

Randomness

Ok, so it's not Tuesday, but I haven't done Random Thoughts in awhile, so here ya go.

Sunday and Monday were hotter than heck. No A/C at our house. Central Air got zapped back during the tornado of '07. Didn't get any window units installed until Monday evening. Kids were staking out their sleeping spots in the living room right after it got installed. Lol!

Monday I spent the day in the car...running. First, I'm in the shower getting ready for my 2 doctor appointments of the day and my phone rings. It's my son. He missed the bus. (This happens quite often when he has delayed starts at school.) So I had to rush to get dressed and pick him up at the bus stop, run back home for forms I forgot, then run to the first doctor. (Who of course was running late.) Then run to the gyne's office, which I had trouble finding. Found it, got violated 9 ways to Sunday (don't you hate the gyne office? And to top it off, it was a doctor new to me...who was a male. Arghh!) I got real comfortable going to my previous gyne, since I was having "female trouble" and was there 2-3 times a month for what seemed like forever. This was different. And it was funny because since the tech hit the "Do you have any children" question before they hit the "orientation" question, they automatically assume hetero. Then as I'm discussing an issue, I dropped a pronoun and suddenly the tech is scrolling back to change the "orientation" question. Yes, I noticed. Anyway, since I was 15 minutes away from my girlfriend's house, I stopped by for a short visit. Then it was off to shopping to get something to nuke for dinner.

So my first doctor's appointment was practically triumphant! I got to find out exactly how much weight I've lost since February (since the break-up). I knew I lost weight because I've been having to buy new clothes, but I didn't know exactly how much. Wanna know? I know you wanna know! I lost 45 pounds since February! Woo hoo! Lin...you're not even going to recognize me when we meet up next month!

Lindsay Lohan...seriously...does anyone really believe your passport was stolen? Does anyone believe the white powder in the photos taken while you were abroad 'promoting a film' was not cocaine? Seriously? How are you going to manage with the alcohol monitor the judge mandated? Do you seriously think you can fool that thing?

The final episode of "Lost"...I never watched a single episode and I'm doing a happy dance that I didn't waste hours of my life watching them. I caught the last 1/2 hour and can I say how robbed I felt just watching that?

The final episode of "The Apprentice". How cool that both Holly and Brett got the full prize money for winning? And how cool that Brett won? I had been rooting for Sharon Osbourne until she left, then I switched to Brett's camp. Awesome!

So, what did you think of "Lost" and "The Apprentice" final episodes?

Lola's Diner©2008-2010

Cookbook Review - Substitute Yourself Skinny By Chef Susan Irby

I recently received a copy of Substitute Yourself Skinny by Chef Susan Irby, the Bikini Chef.
This is truly a collection of great recipes for anyone looking to either lose weight or maintain their weight by eating better with substituting lower fat or lower calorie ingredients. "Cut the calories, keep the flavor."



The book includes 175 Super Slimming Recipes. Some of the recipes you'll find in the book are Biscuits and Gravy, Chinese Chicken Salad, Blooming Onion with Bacon, Spinach Artichoke Dip, Queso Dip, BBQ Sliders, Chicken Satay, Molten Chocolate Cake, Tiramisu, I could go on and on. Lots of great recipes, along with lots of photos. And bonus! Each recipe includes a Nutritional Breakdown and compares a regular full fat/calorie versions calories to the Substitute Yourself Skinny Recipe calories.

Kung-pow Pork
Ingredients:
1 TBS Canola Oil
3/4 lb Pork Loin, trimmed of fat and cut into 1" cubes
1 Clove Garlic, minced
Fine zest of 1 Orange
1 1/2 TBS Sherry Wine
4 dried Chili Peppers, minced
1/2 Red Bell Pepper, chopped
1/2 Yellow Bell Pepper, chopped
1 Cup Snow Peas, left whole
4 Green Onions, green and white parts, minced
2 TBS low-sodium Soy Sauce
1/2 TBS fresh Gingerroot, minced
1 TBS Honey
1 TBS roasted peanuts, chopped

1. In a large saucepan, heat the oil on medium and add the Pork. Cook until just cooked through, about 3 minutes. Add the Garlic and Orange zest. Cook for about 1 minute. Add the Sherry, Chili Peppers, Bell Peppers, Snow Peas, Onions, Soy Sauce, Gingerroot, and Honey. Saute for about 3-4 minutes.
2. When the vegetables are just tender, add the peanuts. Serve on plates in 1 Cup portions.
Original Recipe 500 Calories
Substitute Yourself Skinny Recipe 275 Calories.

Recipe from Substitute Yourself Skinny by Chef Susan Irby, the Bikini Chef.

Wouldn't this be great served in lettuce wraps?

About the Author:

"Chef Susan Irby has worked with multiple Master Chefs including George McNeil, Todd English, and Ming Tsai. Known as the Bikini Chef, specializing in figure "figure-flattering flavors", Chef Susan is host of The Bikini Lifestyle with Susan Irby The Bikini Chef on KFWB News talk 980 in Los Angeles and author of The $7 A Meal Quick And Easy Cookbook, The $7 A Meal Healthy Cookbook and Cooking With Susan. She has cooked for several celebrities including Patrick Swayze, David Spade, Kate Sagal and Bill Handel, and appeared on the Patti Gribow Show and KLAC Los Angeles and numerous other media outlets. She lives in Orange County, CA. Visit Susan Irby.com."

Substitute Yourself Skinny by Chef Susan Irby, the Bikini Chef is currently available online at Amazon.com, Borders.com, Barnes And Noble.com, and at your local bookstore.

Lola's Diner Disclaimer: I was given this cookbook to review. This review is 100% my opinion and has not been edited or reviewed by anyone. I was not compensated in any other way for this product review.

Lola's Diner©2008-2010

Camping Virgin

Yes, it's true...I'm a camping virgin. I'm in my late 40's (did I actually type that?) and I have never camped. My girlfriend is a veteran camper with a pop-up trailer. This weekend we are set to de-winterize the camper. She has notes from her ex on how to do it, but has never actually done it herself. I hope my visions of a new "I Love Lucy" episode don't come true. (Can't you see Lucy and Ethel trying do to this and the hilarity that could ensue?) Yes, I've helped winterize and de-winterize a 3 bedroom trailer home I used to own with my ex, but that was more of a supervisory role than actually doing any of the work.
I've never so much as camped out in a tent in the backyard. Haven't most people at least camped out in their backyard as a kid? Not me.

Our first camping trip is set to be at a primitive camping site. By primitive, I mean, no electric hook-up, nothing. There is a battery for powering the "essentials", like the microwave, and possibly re-charging a cell phone. But not for air-conditioning, television, or computer. No computer? What am I saying? What am I getting myself into?

Wondering if there are any camping books out there now or about to publish that I could review? Hmm, that would certainly be a coup if I could get one of those before my inaugural camping trip! Perhaps a book about how to de-winterize a Jayco Pop-up Camping Trailer, or perhaps a book for "camping virgins"?

When I looked up "Camping Virgin" on Barnes And Noble.com, the books listed were...ahh, not helpful. This is what came up: Bowanga Bowanga / Wild Women of Wongo / Virgin Sacrifice (scarrrrry!), Jungle Girls Gone Wild Collection and last but certainly not least Virgins From Hell. Ok, perhaps I should shorten my search to "camping"? Ok, that's not very encouraging...that search yielded Amelia Bedelia Goes Camping and Curious George Goes Camping. Ok, not good. Then "camping how to" turned up a bunch of fitness books on boot camp training with some real hotties on the cover. Again, not what I'm looking for. So I tried Borders.com and tried "camping how to" and a bunch of survival books came up, along with the very discouraging How to Die in the Outdoors: From Bad Bears to Toxic Toads, 110 Grisly Ways to Croak. Now that's something I certainly didn't want to see.

Ok, I can't believe there aren't any books out there dealing with how to winterize/de-winterize, set-up and maintenance of a camping trailer, or books for camping virgins. Perhaps these are niches that need some attention?
So, do you camp? What do you do to combat the boredom? Do you get bored? Or do you just enjoy being out in nature and enjoy the beautiful starry nights? A camping virgin wants to know.

Lola's Diner©2008-2010

Bait And Switch Weekend Getaway

Patricia at Subjective Soup posted about her experience blogging about Goodreads and how the founder contacted her directly to help her with her issues. Of course I immediately thought of our recent Holiday Inn experience. We've made complaints via their website and no one has contacted us. I thought I'd see if blogging got any response from them.

My girlfriend and I had our long weekend getaway this past weekend. She booked a King Villa at the Holiday Inn in Lake Geneva, WI. She requested a King Villa with a balcony and was told by the person taking the reservation that our balcony request would be included in the notes. A King Villa has a King bed, a whirlpool and fireplace in the room, and a full kitchen. The reservation was prepaid, non-refundable.

It sounds wonderful, doesn't it? Romantic even, right?

It would have been, if that was the room we would have gotten. What we got instead was a first floor room (no balcony) with a Queen bed, a regular walk in shower and no fireplace. When we complained we were basically told you prepaid, there is nothing we can or will do. It was either take the room they gave us (which WAS NOT what we prepaid for) or lose our money and get a room elsewhere that met our original requirements, which were a King bed, a whirlpool and fireplace IN THE ROOM and a balcony.

We had difficulty finding Holiday Inn in Lake Geneva, WI because it really isn't a true Holiday Inn, it's a timeshare. Nowhere on the Holiday Inn in Lake Geneva, WI website does it say that it was a timeshare. We went into the Geneva Resort to ask where the Holiday Inn in Lake Geneva, WI hotel was and they told us that they handle check in for the Holiday Inn in Lake Geneva, WI, checked us in, and directed us to the Holiday Inn in Lake Geneva, WI buildings.

There were several other issues with our room. One being that the blanket on the bed and the extra blanket stowed in the armoire both had old cigarette burns on them. This is in a room that is supposed to be non-smoking. The towels in the bathroom were full of lint. After showering and toweling off I had to take my previously worn tee shirt to rub off the lint that the towel left on me. This wasn't just 1 towel that was linty. All but 1 of the bath towels were linty and I unfortunately was the recipient of those linty towels. The room was equipped with a coffee maker, but did not include enough coffee for our 2 day stay. Only 1 packet of coffee was included and the powdered creamer was caked solid and obviously ancient. We had to schlep to the Geneva Resort to get another packet of coffee and purchase a carton of creamer at a convenience mart because we had no idea how old those powdered creamer packets were.

This wasn't the end of our disappointing hotel stay. Friday night we ordered a pizza delivered to the room and shortly after we saw flashing lights. Several squad cars and 2 paramedic vehicles were in front of our building. No word on why. If there was any safety issue involved, no one told us. They were there for nearly 2 hours. We were left to wonder...heart attack (then why were the paramedics parked so long?), domestic disturbance? or ??? Saturday night I was woken up to someone screaming F-bombs at 2am. It was like staying in hillbilly hell.

My girlfriend travels a lot for business. She has recently put a different chain on her do not book list. I've often stayed at Holiday Inns when I visit Wisconsin. They've been my 'go to' choice when I visit there because of their locations, cleanliness and quality. I've never had an experience like this.

Our hotel experience was definitely not at all what we expected and it did not meet our expectations of a Holiday Inn experience. We didn't even get what we paid for! We basically paid for 1 thing and got something of considerably lesser quality. We have made complaints online at the Holiday Inn website, but have gotten no response. I'll post an update if Holiday Inn responds.

Lola's Diner©2008-2010

Lake Geneva Getaway

This is a photo of an actual shop on Main Street in Lake Geneva. Well, let me just say that "Whatever Lola Wants..." wasn't exactly how our long weekend started. Our hotel room did not meet our romantic getaway expectations. We reserved, prepaid and expected a King Villa with a king size bed, in room whirlpool and fireplace, and a balcony. What we got was a queen size bed on the first floor and none of the rest. Enough about the negatives, here are the highlights...that I can blog about ;)
One of the first shops we stopped at was Aerial Stunt Kites on Wrigley Drive in Lake Geneva. If you have kids or grand kids, nieces or nephews or if you're still a kid at heart, Aerial Stunt Kites is a must stop. Not only do they have a huge selection of kites, they also have a huge selection of games, puzzles and very unique toys. The staff is very knowledgeable about all the products and will even demonstrate the toys or games and let you try them out. My girlfriend purchased one of the coolest toys there, the X-Launcher.

Friday night we ordered pizza delivered to our room and just kicked back and relaxed. Saturday night was really the highlight of our trip in terms of dining out. We made reservations at Geneva Chop House and asked for a view of the lake. We got our view of the lake and had a fabulous meal. Hot rolls with bits of roasted garlic in them were served with 3 butters, plain butter, sun-dried tomato butter and a blue cheese butter which was our favorite. We split a chopped salad and both ordered the Blue Cheese Crusted Filet and split an order of Grilled Asparagus with Lemon Butter Sauce. For dessert, we split Creme Brulee. For steak fans, this is a must stop, and the view was wonderful.

Sunday morning we set out for brunch at Kirsch's Restaurant. When we thought brunch, we expected a buffet. Unfortunately, Kirsch's Restaurant Champagne Brunch is an order off the menu brunch. It was very good, but a bit disappointing, just because we expected a buffet. I ordered the Bananas Foster French Toast and my girlfriend ordered the Eggs Benedict. Both were egg-cellent. We had a wonderful view of the lake while we dined.
After brunch we stopped to take photos by the lake facing Main Street before leaving town.

We had a nice relaxing drive there and back. It was a wonderful, romantic getaway. We both can't wait to plan our next getaway.

Lola's Diner©2008-2010