This Stop Willoughby

I'd like to start this post by saying thank you for the kind words and expressions of sympathy regarding my brother in law's death. I appreciate it very much. Yesterday was a crazy day for awards, wasn't it? Thank you again to those of you who gave me an award. I think Lissaloo and I got the ball rolling in the morning thanks to Donna. By the afternoon, awards were flying all over the place! I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did. Even though we've never met in person, I think of all of you as friends. What, too mushy? Let's just group hug and move on! And, finally, the search is over. I'm pleased to say that we finally found a car for our son! We found something that met our criteria and his. It had to be either 4 wheel or front wheel drive for us (snow, Michigan, you get the picture), it had to be sporty and fast for him. So here it is (drum roll, please)........ a 1993 Dodge Stealth! It's in great shape, it's just a little dirty. Unfortunately, we...

I have a mixed bag of emotions going on today. I'm sad, angry, guilty, frustrated and happy all at the same time. If you're interested in knowing why, I'll tell you. Let's take this one emotion at a time, shall we? Sad. I'm incredibly sad today. I heard from my father in law that the coroner has finally decided on a cause of death for my brother in law. He died in October, so we have been waiting all this time to find out what happened to him. The answer? Smoke inhalation. He died in a house fire, so you would think that this wouldn't come as much of a surprise, but it does. Initially we were led to believe that he had no smoke in his lungs and may have died before the fire started. Angry. I'm angry about the way the media, the police and the coroner handled this case. At the time my brother in law died, the media referred to him as a squatter. They portrayed him as an insignificant homeless drifter who wandered into a house and decided to live there illegal...

I was hoping to have a delicious recipe or fun project to share today, but sadly, I have neither. What I do have is another stupid story where you can laugh at me. I have plenty of them, in fact. And who doesn't enjoy a good laugh?! I should start by saying that my husband and I have lots of good ideas. Really, we do. We like to brainstorm on weekend mornings while we have our coffee. We've come up with some winners, but also a few losers. This one was a loser of an idea to the nth power. It really was. We were planning our vacation a few years ago and decided it would be a good idea to come up with a way to earn a little extra spending money. Maybe something the family could do together. A garage sale? No, doesn't sound like fun. Bake sale? Nah. A paper route? Great idea! Let's do it!! Mr. Willoughby called the local paper and found out there was an available route in the next town over. The circulation manager said this route could be done by one pe...

Mr. Willoughby and I had such fun with the Long Island Iced Tea drink demo last week that we decided to make it a Friday blog tradition. However, Mr. Willoughby is working late tonight so I don't know when the bar will open. I know you're thinking that I could demo the drinks myself, but I usually shy away from drinking alone (as far as you know). Besides, Mr. Willoughby is a better mixologist than I am. If it gets too late tonight we may have a Saturday drink demo. I didn't want to leave you hanging on a Friday night, though, so I will be posting about tequila. I know that a lot of people stay away from tequila because it gives them a headache or a bad hangover. In our experience, that doesn't happen as often if you buy a high quality tequila. We're partial to 1800 brand. It's what we usually have on hand. Last weekend we decided to go all out and pick up a bottle of Cabo Wabo. If you're a Sammy Hagar fan you've heard of this brand. Sammy owns the dist...

I don't usually post more than once each day, but I'm going to today. First of all, an update on my lost paperwork, I still haven't found it. However, I found out that I can get a replacement copy of it (for $20), so I can stop looking. That's a relief! And now, on the lighter side, I was reading Muddy Runner's blog about taking Tango lessons. It sounds like such a fun thing to do, even though I'm not much of a dancer, myself. I used to go to the dances in high school and all my friends and I would get in a circle and sort of "jump" to the beat instead of really dancing. If I try any "real" moves, I look a little like I'm having a seizure and other dancers in my vicinity are likely to be hurt by my flailing limbs. It's just not in my genes, I guess. Now slow dancing, that's different. I can do that. I'm not talking about any fancy steps or anything like that, but I'm not too bad at it. My husband and I have never been hurt...

I'm so mad that I could scream! In fact, I just might. I'm going to sit right here at the computer and scream my head off. Maybe it will make me feel better. Hold on a second, ok? (Insert sound of me screaming). Nope, it didn't help. Why am I mad? Because I can't find some really important paperwork that I need. I seem to have misplaced it (or someone else in this house did, but no one's fessing up). I'm usually a really organized person, so it makes me crazy when I can't find something. I've been through literally every inch of this house and I still can't find what I'm looking for. There have been times when I thought I lost something and then realized that, instead, I had taken leave of my sanity for a short while. Want to laugh at my stupidity? Here are a few examples: I drive an SUV now, but I used to have a car. Once, after returning home from the grocery store, I opened the trunk to take the groceries out. They weren't there! I immedia...

I'm sure you often find yourself wondering "What does Willoughby do in her spare time?". You don't? I guess I just assumed..... What I have been doing with every waking second of free time is looking for a car for my son. Saturday is his 16th birthday and he'll be getting his driver's license (shhhhhh, if you're really quiet, you can actually hear my hair turning gray). I can hardly believe that our little boy, our first born, is old enough to drive. It seems like only yesterday that he was five years old and driving his battery operated Jeep through the backyard. He mastered a three point turn and could back that baby into it's parking spot in the garage after the first week (I'm not kidding!). After the Jeep, he graduated to go-carts, dirt bikes, and 4-wheelers. I've been aging at warp speed ever since. In fact, I think I may have even jumped ahead a few years the time he decided to show me that his dirt bike could do 70 mph in six...

I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentines Day. I'd love to tell you about my evening. As I told you before, my husband and I had plans to go to a concert. I listen to alternative rock most of the time, but I've got a real soft spot for 80's music. My favorite 80's band is Starship (or Jefferson Starship, back in the day). We go to see them every time they're in town. We've seen them in upscale theaters, outdoor venues and everything in between. They put on a great show and it's always a good time. When I saw that they were coming to town for Valentines Day, I got really excited. Mr. Willougby and I decided this would be our gift to each other. We ordered tickets right away, front row, orchestra left. We had never been to this theater before, but we were impressed when we got there. It is only about an hour drive to get there. The parking was close (and free). Inside, they had a small bar where we each got a glass of wine (white zinfandel, but what can you d...

Happy Valentines Day, everyone! I hope you will be enjoying it with someone you love. I don't have anything delicious, wonderful, thought provoking or amusing to share with you today because I have plans tonight and need to get a few things done around the house. My husband and I are going to a concert this evening. I'll tell you all about it tomorrow, so be sure to stop by! Until then, make a pitcher of Long Island Iced Tea (see below) or some Kahlua Mousse (farther below) to share with your sweetie.

It's Friday night, and more often than not, that means Mr. Willoughby and I have a drink together. Sometimes we're lazy and make do with Captain Morgan and Coke, or simple Margaritas. Tonight, however, we're having my favorite mixed drink. Drumroll, please........Long Island Iced Tea! If you've never had one, let me impress upon you that this drink does not contain tea in any form. It looks like tea when it's done, hence the name. This drink is amazingly smooth, despite the fact that it contains a whopping five kinds of liquor. There are many different recipes for a classic Long Island, but we like this one the best. You will need to make some simple syrup (equal parts water and sugar, bring to a boil for one minute, cool). We always use a high quality tequila because the lesser quality brands will give you a bitter tasting drink, but other than that, you can go for less expensive brands of everything else. Here's what you'll need: 1 part Tequila 1 part rum ...

With Valentines Day just around the corner, I wanted to share an indulgent dessert recipe. I've scaled it down to make two servings, so it's a perfect ending for your romantic Valentines Day dinner. It has alcohol in it, so it's for adults only. If you're the type who waits until the last minute to do things like this, this recipe is perfect for you. It only takes about 10 minutes from start to finish and you probably have most of the ingredients already. Kahlua Mousse Before you gather your ingredients together, place a bowl and beaters in the refrigerator to chill. Now you'll need 1 cup heavy cream, 1 ounce Kahlua, 2 teaspoons of instant coffee powder (I grind instant coffee crystals in my spice grinder to make powder), and 1/4 cup sugar. Remove the bowl from the refrigerator and dump all of your ingredients in together. Yes, take the beaters out first! Now beat the mixture on high speed until it becomes stiff. Don't go crazy with this step or you'll end u...

I have been experimenting with different recipes for some time now, looking for an easy "grab and go" breakfast bar. I've made quite a few; some were good, others flopped. Last week, though, I decided to try Playgroup Granola Bars from Allrecipes. I had seen it recommended before, but I'd never given it a second look. Why? Stupid as it sounds, I avoided it because of the name of the recipe. It sounded like something appropriate for toddlers, not older children, teens and adults. I'm very pleased to say that I was wrong. This recipe is fabulous! It's moist and chewy and delicious. Exactly what I was looking for. It is also very adaptable to changes. I've made multiple varieties of it and they have all been successful. If you follow the recipe as stated, it's fairly healthy with 5.5 grams of fat and 161 calories. Some reviewers cut out the fat by substituting apple sauce. I'm not a fan of the texture you get by using this technique in baked goods. I...

Ok, Thames and Raoulysgirl started it, so I'm going to jump on board and post a list of interesting or at least unique things about myself. They both managed to come up with 25, but I'm not sure that I can think of that many! We'll see..... I'm smarter than I look. I passed the MENSA entrance exam when I was 15. I never actually joined MENSA, but I could. Also, when I was 18 I was a senior in high school and a freshman in college at the same time. I got a great job right after graduating from high school (great paying, I should say, I hated the job) and never finished college. I enrolled in design school about 5 years ago to become an interior designer. I loved the design portion, but the business end of it left me shaking in my shoes. When we got to the portion covering legal contracts and the potential for lawsuits from unhappy clients, it made me question my abilities. I have a phobia about hair. Once it is no longer attached to a living human being, it freaks me out...

I haven't posted anything about cooking lately. Strange, because I spend a good part of every day deciding what to make for dinner, reading recipes, talking to my online "foodie" friends, and cooking. I really do enjoy cooking and baking and I'm constantly looking for new recipes to try. Sometimes, though, I'm just too busy or tired to make anything that requires more than 10 or 15 minutes prep time. I prefer to make most meals from scratch, but everyone cheats now and then, don't they? I'm not a huge fan of fast food. I had a cheeseburger from McDonalds recently that tasted like rust. It was so bad I couldn't eat it. I don't even want to know what would make a cheeseburger taste that way, and I probably don't want to know! Of course, there are always pre-packaged prepared foods, but I don't like most of those. I'm convinced that some of them are 100% synthetic and contain no actual food. On the bright side, there are a few that I real...

A long time ago I read an article about making the time you spend cleaning your house more efficient. It had some good ideas, but it also had some points I would disagree with. Namely that you shouldn't bother to clean anything that is already clean. I've instituted a new cleaning routine around my house that is working well and saving me loads of time. Basically, it involves cleaning what is already clean to prevent it from becoming dirty (or dusty, etc.). I know, you're wondering why anyone would want to do that. I'm telling you, it sounds crazy, but it works for me. Here's how it works. First, you have to start with a clean house. After that, it's a matter of dividing rooms into one of two categories; wet rooms and dry rooms. In my house wet rooms include the kitchen, the laundry room, and the bathrooms. Dry rooms are the living room, dining room, bedrooms, office and hallways. Are you with me so far? On day one you quick clean the wet rooms, on day two you q...

You can never take a single second for granted. You just can't, because you never know what tomorrow will bring. We got a tragic reminder of this yesterday when we heard that a local teenage boy had committed suicide. We sat in stunned silence when we heard the news. My son knew this boy and they had mutual friends. There just aren't words to express the shock and sadness. Out of respect for the family's privacy, I don't want to be too specific with the details. I will tell you that this boy was 18 years old and came from a loving family. Over the weekend, while no one was home, he shot and killed himself. My heart aches for this family and the agony they must be going through. I simply can't imagine it. My husband and I made sure to talk to our son about it and remind him that he can come to us with any problem, no matter how big or small. We know that he knows that, but it bears repeating. It's so hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel some...