Chinese Buffet with Frog Legs

China Capital Super Buffet at 6201 Northwest Expressway in Oklahoma City, OK is just what the name says it is....a SUPER BUFFET! They have the most Chinese food I have ever seen on a buffet. The best thing I found on the buffet was FROG LEGS! I love frog legs.

My Daddy and I use to go out and hunt frogs. We went to various ponds in the dark and would shine the light to find the frogs and the capture them with the frog gig. There is nothing better than fresh fried frog legs. That is one of those childhood memories that I will never forget.

As you can see in the photo below I got a big pile of frog legs. Of course, my husband and daughter did not eat frog legs, so I had to eat their share too...LOL.

They had hot food, cold food, fruits, desserts, and all in large varieties.

No, these are not all my plates!

Next time you are in Oklahoma City check out this new buffet.

You will love it as much as I did!



Heartland Cruise Car Show - Weatherford, OK

The Weatherford Chamber of Commerce sponsors the Heartland Cruise Car Show and Poker Run every Father's Day Weekend in Weatherford, Oklahoma. Travel Interstate 40 or Historic Route 66 West to Weatherford, Oklahoma which is 70 miles from Oklahoma City. These photos were snapped after the car show when some of the participants had left Rader Park and ventured to main street. These are some of the older type vehicles shown, but there are lots of cars and pickups that drag main during the big weekend event.

If you have a vehicle you would like to show contact the Weatherford Chamber of Commerce. But, if you just want to see some awesome vehicles check them out at Rader Park. Enjoy the fun, food and entertainment Weatherford, Oklahoma has to offer. Get your kicks on Route 66.

Stepping Stones

In 1997 four sisters started getting together for crafts night and working on ceramics pieces. Then the crafts evolved into working with stained glass earning lots of ribbons and awards at various fairs. They started experimenting with stained glass stepping stones in 2002 and from that point on they were in the stained glass stepping stone business. The Glass Breakers - P.J. Choate, Amy Helm, Ida Simmons and Lucille Chaote. The first year they made 160 stepping stones with the construction process being 30 days from cutting the class until the stone is sealed and the cement dries. It is a lot of work, but turns out such unique pieces.

The sisters photograph each stone and keep a catalog of who purchased the stone and what state the stone ended up being located. My Mom loves roses and I bought her a stepping stone to put in her flower bed in Arkansas. She thought it was too pretty to put outside so it is in her living room. My granddaughter preferred her OU stepping stone in her bedroom.

The sisters now have stepping stones in all shapes and sizes with every type of stained glass design. They have even been ask to design special stones for individuals.

Here are the sisters winning another award at a local festival. Next time you attend an arts festival in Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas or Arkansas look around you might find The Glass Breakers displaying their beautiful stepping stones.

THIS IS THE LIFE!

Making the long trek into the city is boring, and seems to last forever. Now that our granddaughter has her driver's license, we can get her to do the driving for us once in a while. THIS IS THE LIFE! I get to sit in the back seat and enjoy the trip.

She has learned to place her hand on the steering wheel so that her arm blocks my view of seeing how fast she is going. It makes her crazy if I tell her she is speeding a little. That only comes from years of driving a vehicle to know the feel of the different speeds.

I still do not ride well and find my self giving driving tips. She told me a couple times on this trip that she wished I could ride like her Poppy, and keep my thoughts to myself. Cracked me up...bless his heart he can't see what she is doing.

He is the one who rode through the city, the first time with our daughter, 19 years ago when she only had her driver's permit! He just has nerves of steel when it comes to his kids and grandkids.

We have been lucky that both daughters and our granddaughter went through driver's education and turned out to be good drivers. They have all three been involved in auto accidents over the years. Knock on wood, none of them have been at fault and sometimes I have wondered if there was a big target on their vehicles.

Indian Fry Bread Dessert

Top fry bread with strawberries, blueberries, bananas, ice cream and whipped cream.

Indian Fry Bread

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups warm water

Oil, for frying

Directions

Put flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Mix well, add warm water and stir until dough begins to ball up. On a lightly floured surface knead dough. Do not over-work the dough.

Heat oil to 350 degrees in a frying pan or kettle. Lightly flour surface and pat and roll out baseball size pieces of dough. Cut hole in middle with a knife (so the dough will fry flat) to 1/4-inch thickness and place in oil and cook until golden brown and flip over and cook opposite side until same golden brown. Dough is done in about 3 minutes depending on oil temperature and thickness of dough.

After fry bread is done top with favorite topping or, chile or pinto beans and cheese first, then cover with lettuce and tomatoes, onions, green chile and you have an Indian Taco. Melissa makes the most wonderful fry bread, as shown in the photo. I love the Indian Tacos. I also love to just eat fry bread with a little honey and the dessert the girls made really looks good.

Cheap VBS Crafts

Today Vacation Bible Schools have themes that come with purchased packages of crafts and lessons. When my Granddaughter was 2 years old (1996) her VBS was on a tight budget. Her Nana Bonnie and Aunt Peggy needed some ideas to use for the little children to teach and create. I looked up some verses in the bible and made pages that could be photocopied for their crafts. This first one just had the kids put paint on the palms of their hands and then put down on the top of the tree base to make the tree top. It is a good idea to ask the parents to send an old shirt for the children to wear when using paints.

These next two are different ways to make rainbows. The first is using colored rice, but I think it was actually a day care project. The second used colored cotton balls.

This one has collected lots of dust on the cotton balls...yuk. Remember it was 1996 when this was made! I put the verse on the top of the page and then made the rainbow shape with clouds under the rainbow. The children glued on the cotton balls to make the different rainbow colors.

This next one was simply the bible verse and a heart. They glued pieces of tissue paper on the heart. All of these projects are cheap and easy for the tiny VBS children to create. Plus, their parents might read the verses when they take their crafts home.

These next craft projects are also 1996 creations, but they were done at day care. As you can see they took pre-cut firecrackers and helped the children glue on glitter to make them exciting.

The day care used lots of sand mixed with glue to put on several projects. I love this scarecrow! I also have an owl with the sand mixture. A bucket of sand mixed with glue is a cheap medium to use in crafting.

This last one is my all time favorite. Ms. Margie, the day care teacher, was kind enough to write on the top of the page so we would know that this was a thunder storm! Just glitter crayons on construction paper.

I hope these things will get your creative juices flowing. Just remember when working with small children, they are proud of just getting the attention and proud of almost anything they make with their hands.

HOT!

It is HOT in Western Oklahoma!!

When I got in the car, after work yesterday, it told me just how hot it was...whew!

We still need rain so bad, that towns are talking about rationing water usage.

How do you keep cool when it is this hot?

Eat with a fork Chili Dogs

My husband and I love CHILI DOGS! (Note now that we are older, we must have antacids after eating them.) We prefer to make our chili dogs with BarS Smoked Sausage, because they don't get lost in the bun. You can find these huge "dogs" on sale in the 16 count package for $4.99. We love to use them in a variety of ways besides just chili dogs.They are good chopped up with bar-b-que sauce, in a bun with mustard and relish, in omlets, fried in the skillet, wrapped in crescent rolls and baked, etc., etc.!  BarS also has food processing plants in Oklahoma. We also like to use Griffin's mustard which is another MADE IN OKLAHOMA product.

CHILI DOGS

4 smoked sausage

1 can chili (any kind you like)

4 hot dog buns

mustard

chopped onions

shredded cheese

Dump can of chili into a bowl and microwave until hot or approximately 2 minutes.

(cover the bowl of chili with a paper towel to prevent microwave splatters)

Wrap smoked sausages in paper towel and microwave for approximately 2 minutes.

Put mustard on the buns and sprinkle onions on buns.

Put hot sausages on buns and cover with chili and cheese.

I like to put the plate of chili dogs in microwave for about 30 seconds to melt the cheese.

You can see why you must eat these chili dogs with a fork!

This is what they look like in the middle! YUMMY! They are wonderful! Quick, easy, and cheap way to have a one dish meal. Don't forget the antacids!

Woofs Gone Wild

Do you love dogs? If so you need to check out the new dog store inside the Attic Door in Elk City, Oklahoma. You can find more information and photos on KCSheperd's blog http://kcsheperd.blogspot.com/

This store has EVERYTHING a pampered pooch would ever need. Beds, collars, clothes, treats, toys, etc. etc. KC and her mom Robbie have thought of every owners needs for their precious pets. Woofs Gone Wild and you will too!

Egg Carton Ribbon Holder

This egg carton ribbon holder is awesome to keep those little rolls of ribbon together while you are using them. It is also another way to recycle the egg carton. I glued a couple squares of card stock to the top of the egg carton to make it stronger and not so easy for the ribbon to slice the carton.

Then I punched holes through the top of the carton. I am sure there is a easier way, but I finally found using a ink pen was the easiest. I do not have any fancy crafty type cutters.

The holes are not even, but I am the one using this ribbon holder and I am a little off too.

Put your ribbon in the holes where the eggs were and poke out a little of each ribbon through the holes in the top of the carton. Then all you have to do is pull the ribbon you wish to use. This is a great way to keep ribbon stored and useful when you need ribbon for a project. The cats both thought I was making them a toy...they pulled the ribbon too!

What ideas do you have for recycling egg cartons?

Charlie the Ranch Dog by Ree Drummond

The Charlie Book....Ree Drummond's latest publication is a book for children! The perfect thing to purchase for some of the children in my life! My grandson, Granny's Love and my friend Pat's grandson are having birthday's soon, so I for sure need to get a copy to give them. And then there is Erica another beautiful little girl I love....so I for sure need 3 copies of CHARLIE THE RANCH DOG. I sign on  to Ree Drummond's web site http://www.thepioneerwoman.com/ to click on the link to find the book and it takes me to http://www.harpercollins.com/ where I find several places to look at book prices.

Charlie the Ranch Dog examines the myriad issues of a certain Basset Hound named Charlie.

Charlie the Ranch Dog

By Ree Drummond

Illustrated by Diane deGroat

This is where I should admit I am not the greatest computerizer (one who competently operates a computer)! I usually have one of the kids or grandkids around to help if I plan to do something other than blog or e-mail, but today I want to order these books to get them in time to give as birthday gifts to my two special boys.

Formats: Hardcover
eBook
Audible
WMA
Single-Click Shopping:
Book Description

OK, if you really want a description of the book go to the Pioneer Woman blog, http://www.thepioneerwoman.com/  and read about writing the book and working with the awesome artist who did the illustrations for the book.
Meet Charlie.
He's a ranch dog. Breakfast is his life, especially when bacon is involved. Charlie has dangly ears, floppy skin, and big fat paws. And he loves living in the country. That's because he works like a dog...fixing fences, gardening, and helping his family out on the range.
Yep, it's all work, all the time for Charlie the ranch dog. In fact, he's probably working right now...
Zzzzzzz....
A ranch dog's work is never done!

Come along as Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman, introduces us to her beloved short-legged pioneer dog named Charlie.

Out of the places listed on Ree's website I chose Barnes and Noble to purchase the books, because they had a great price! As I am selecting the number of books to order it said I was going to get free shipping! That is when I decided I wanted a copy of CHARLIE THE RANCH DOG for my very own!
Shopping Bag ( 4 items )
You've earned FREE SHIPPING
PRODUCT DETAILSPRICEQUANTITYCharlie the Ranch Dog
by Ree Drummond, Diane Degroat
Format: Hardcover
Usually ships within 24 hours
$37.36
(You Save 45%)
You'll be asked to enter your Gift Card and/or
Membership number at Checkout.
Subtotal: $37.36
Estimated Shipping: FREE
Total*:$37.36
 the little *means they must add tax $3.55, so the real total is $40.91 for 4 books!!! Good buy.

Now I can't wait for the books to arrive. I love Ree Drummond books! Her cookbook is totally awesome. #1 New York Times Bestseller. The Pioneer Woman Cooks recipes from an accidental country girl.

See my blog posts for 5/7/11 and 5/8/11 about reading her love story and of course please sign up to be a follower of this blog, cause I need the followers and you might get a laugh or two along the way. I don't RSS or send by e-mail or any of the neat things other bloggers do...someday I might learn...but for the time being you just have to put it in your Favorites and check back every few days.



Eliza Cruce Hall Doll Museum

Eliza Cruce Hall Doll Collection was donated to the Ardmore, Oklahoma Library in 1971. Eliza Cruse Hall was the niece of Oklahoma's second Governor Lee J. Cruse. She spent thirty-five years collecting dolls from around the world. The following photos are only a few of the over 300 dolls on display at the doll museum. They are enclosed in huge glass cases with mirrors behind each shelf. I tried to stay out of the photos, but it did not work with all of them. If you are ever in Ardmore, Oklahoma this is a must see collection! It is so much better in person.

Swadley's Bar-B-Q

Mustang, Oklahoma southwest of Oklahoma City is the location of this Swadley's Bar-B-Q restaurant. Cute place with lots of old relics. Rocking chairs on the porch along with a couple saddles and other interesting items. The barn like front of the building also adds to the western bar-b-q flair. Their menu offers lots of combinations to order and more "sides" than other places we have enjoyed eating bar-b-q, plus they have a salad bar that can be selected as a side.

There are other Swadley's locations around the Oklahoma City Metro area.

This time I had a salad bar, fried okra, smoked sausage and brisket.

You can tell how good the brisket was by looking at the "smoke line" around the slices of meat. It was some of the best brisket I've had in ages. The okra was crisp and note the stray piece of macaroni in with my okra. The meal also came with a grilled piece of  Texas toast, pickles, jalapeno peppers and onions. They have several choices of bar-b-q sauce and the spicy was my favorite. If you see the big red barn like building stop and enjoy, it is a good place to eat with reasonable prices. (Four of us ate for $43) You also get a soft serve ice cream cone at the end of your meal:)