Awesome Orb Weaver

Isn't she beautiful! This orb weaver is currently living out her last days at our friend's house. On our last pool day of the summer we noticed she had made an egg sack about 5 feet away from her web. She will die at first frost, but the egg sack, if left alone, will hatch in the spring with many baby orb weavers.  Pretty cool...but then, I do love spiders.

Cake is GOOD!

Laila Bug turned one! We had a small celebration at the park where Laila opened presents and had cake/cupcakes. Luckily the rain held out and we were able to celebrate her first year.  My time flies...

Favorite Pedi Ever!

So I generally don't like to show photos of my feet because, just yuck, but today I got the cutest pedicure ever!  I wanted something a little different so went with a light blue/green color ( I generally sick with pinks, reds, or French pedicures ).  One of the girls there does nail art when asked, for no extra charge! So expecting  a small, simple flower like I had gotten previously I asked for  some flower art.  And THIS is what I ended up with instead!  How cool is that! I love it!  You can't see it well in the photos, but the middle of the flowers and the insides of some of the leaves are silver. I will definitely be going back here!  If you are local, it is LA Nails in Oldham County in LaGrange, Ky.

Groundhog Visitor

This little guy has been hanging around our back yard and sunning on the lower back deck. He's (or she) is fairly small so I'm thinking he just recently left momma groundhog to be on his own. We were seeing him every day, but after an afternoon of target shooting we seem to have scared him off, which probably isn't a bad thing. It was neat seeing him up so close - cute personality in these little guys!

The Bardstown - Dinner & Show

The Stage Setup for "Bug"

Tonight we went on our monthly date night and decided to try something new.  We headed down to "The Bardstown" on Bardstown Road in the Highlands to have dinner and watch a play.  The Bard's restaurant has a  Shakespearean-themed menu that includes their signature Bard Burger or Steakspeare, vegetarian "To Bean, or Not to Bean" Black Bean burger, First Folio Fish, and much more.  You can eat and see a show or go just for dinner or simply meet with friends for drinks.

Jason and I had the signature Bard Burger with the seasoned fries - wow, it was delicious! In fact, everything on the menu looked good. After we ate we had about a half an hour to kill so ordered a couple of drinks and chatted at the table while waiting for the theater doors to open ( it is separate from the dining room, but you can still order drinks during the show ).

The play we saw was called "Bug".  As per the site description:
"Bug focuses on Agnes, a divorced waitress who loves cocaine and is on the run from her abusive ex-husband Jerry. She meets Peter, a former Army soldier who is now a drifter, and they begin what is at first a platonic relationship. What follows will be a chaotic turn of events that includes bugs, paranoia, the return of Jerry, twisted conspiracy theories, and more."

It was a very fun experience and a perfect date night.  We will most certainly be going back again!

Eggplant Parmesan - Baked

This Baked Eeggplant Parmesan is a wonderful vegetarian dish and is almost like a meatless, noodle-less lasagna. Very yummy!  We like to serve with a side of baked zucchini coated in olive oil and garlic and garlic bread.

Prep time: About 20 minutes
Bake time: 1.5 hours
Serves 8

INGREDIENTS

• 2 Medium to Large Eggplants


• Olive Oil


• 2 Large Eggs


• 3/4 Cup of Italian Bread Crumbs


• 3 tablespoons Italian Seasoning


• Salt & Pepper


• 48 oz  Tomato Sauce  (I like 1/2 smooth and 1/2 chunky)


• 1 1/2 Cups of Shredded Mozzarella Cheese


• 1/4 Cup of Shredded Parmesan Cheese

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Brush 2 baking sheets with oil. ( Put foil over baking sheets for easy cleanup ).  Set aside.  Peel eggplant and slice into 1/2 inch thick rounds.


2. In wide, shallow bowl, whisk 2 eggs and 2 tablespoons of water. In another wide, shallow bowl, combine breadcrumbs, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. ( If you have finely shredded parmesan cheese you can also add it ).


3. Dip eggplant slices in egg mixture and dredge in breadcrumb mixture to coat both sides. Place on baking sheets.


4. Bake eggplant until golden brown on bottom for 20 - 25 minutes.  Flip slices, sprinkle with parmesan cheese and bake again for 20 - 25 additional minutes.


5. In a 9 x 13 baking dish, spread 2 cups of sauce along bottom of dish. ( Add a dash of Italian seasoning to the sauce ). Arrange half the eggplant over sauce. Cover with 2 more cups of sauce and then 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese. Repeat with another layer of sauce, eggplant and mozzarella cheese. Finish the top with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese.


6. Bake 20 - 25 minutes until sauce is bubbling and cheese is melted.  Let stand 5 minutes before serving

Sometimes They Get Along

These two are a funny pair. Lois Lane (the black one) is the only female dog we have and is aloof and thinks of herself as a Queen and a person moreso than a dog.  L.B. (the red chiweenie) is a total dog who loves his toys and wants to play with all dogs, no matter their size, breed or color. L.B. is quite wary of Lois Lane though as she isn't much the playing type and doesn't really seem to care for L.B. too much. Once in a while we'll catch her playing with him, but mostly he steers clear of her and her gnashing teeth.

So imagine my surprise to snap this shot of them bird watching out of the bedroom window. They like to do this while I work out (our workout room is the other half of our bedroom), but generally will only lay there one at a time. They laid like this throughout my entire workout watching their birds together today. Maybe they are growing to love one another!