Sign of the times

I was planning on posting a picture with this blog, which would have made it alot more interesting. Unfortunately, I got a little ahead of myself and tossed the box in the dumpster before I remembered.

So, on to the story. Last night, my roomie & I decided to grab pizza for dinner (he gets a great discount on Tuesdays, so it's super cheap) We picked up the order, and as we were leaving, I happened to notice the label on the box (the sticker that has your name, etc)... It said "Your Pizza Experience Was Managed By Christ"

Now I'm not trying to be sacrilegious or anything... but it truly is a sign of the times when the son of God has a part time job!

Homemade Croutons

I love croutons... I'm not a fan of salad, but I snack on croutons... but have you ever looked at the ingredient list on some brands? Not to mention, it's actually pretty easy to turn ingredients you already have into yummy crunchy goodness without leaving home.

I'll share with you my method, it's not an exact recipe, because it will vary based on your personal preferences and the quantities you have on hand.

Start with your bread. You can use fresh bread or stale bread, doesn't really make a difference in the end. The only difference is that the fresher the bread, the longer it will stay in the oven, in order to dry it out. Most recently I made some croutons with some leftover Sourdough bread I had. It was a really rustic bread and had lots of flavor, but you can really use any bread you want.

Cube your bread, size is up to personal preferences. I usually cube mine in about 1 inch or so pieces, because I like jumbo croutons. If you make them smaller, they'll finish faster of course. You'll want them to be similiar in size, so they'll all finish at the same time.

Spread the bread out on a baking pan and drizzle with melted butter (for a full pan, I use about a 1/3 a cup of butter) you can use more or less, just eyeball it, the more butter you use, the better the end result. Sprinkle the bread with your favorite seasoning (I use garlic powder) and then toss the bread cubes to make sure they are coated as evenly as possible (you don't have to be perfect)

Bake the bread @ 300 degrees until lightly browned and completely dry. You'll want to stir them every 10 to 15 minutes. I usually bake mine for about an hour and 15 minutes. These are a good project for when you're cleaning the kitchen, etc, since you'll already be in there. After about 30 minutes, I usually take them out and drizzle/stir in some additional melted butter (maybe another 1/4 cup) and some more garlic powder.

When you think they are done, taste one... if it's chewy in the middle at all, go another 10 minutes and try again. At about the 1 hour mark, I take mine out and sprinkle in some grated Parmesean cheese (toss to coat) and let them go another 10 to 15 minutes. Once they're done, to ensure that they are completely dried out and nice and crunchy, I just turn the oven off and leave them in the oven to hang out for awhile.

You can store them in an airtight container, or in the freezer for longterm storage.

Want more great kitchen tips? Head over to Tammy's Kitchen for Kitchen Tip Tuesdays

What a monster eats

Yes, her chew toy is not 6 inches away, but she would rather chew on a stray plastic container she found.

But she eats her greens too! On a plate no less!

Life with pets

We recently bought a bookcase to fill some blank wall space in the living room. Previously there had been a large ottoman on that particular wall, but when we got the new living room set, the room was rearranged, and the ottoman was out. And we were stuck with a blank wall that just looked really bare. We went shopping looking for something to fill that space. We had some ideas, unfortunately, the stores weren't cooperating with our ideas. Everything we looked at was either not in our price range, too big, too small, or the wrong color. We finally ended up modifying our plans and switched to a grouping of items. This is how the bookcase came to be in our living room. For days, it sat empty while we figured out what was going on it. Well, except for the cats... who decided that this was their new multi level cat bed.

Finally, I started filling the shelves. We wanted the shelving to be functional (it needed to be a place our remotes could go, out of reach and maybe house some DVDs) but we didn't want it to be completely packed full of stuff, and end up looking cluttered. Our living room is small, and if the bookcase is overrun, it will just make the whole room feel cluttered. So far... I've got 3 shelves arranged... and then comes the decision... what goes on the last two shelves... because clearly, the cats still think that these two shelves are their bunk beds...

And of course, I somehow got a strange angle when I took this, and cutting off part of the shelf, because it looks crooked, but I'm looking at the shelf now and it's not.

A yummy mashed potato

It seems that everywhere I read, people are pairing down their food budget, trying to economize, not be wasteful, etc. One of the popular ideas, that's been going on, on a few blogs, is skipping the grocery store, and just using what you have on hand. I'm trying this as well. Yesterday I made a baked mashed potato recipe. Well, it's not really a recipe, so much as a method. I've read several recipes, and I just blended a few together, based on what I had on hand.

Here's what I used:
Bag of Oreda Steam & Mash Potatoes

1% Milk

Sour Cream

Onion Powder

Neufchatel Cheese

Smart Balance 50/50 Butter Blend

2% Colby Cheese

Salt & Pepper (not pictured)

Cooking Spray (not pictured)

Now, you could always use regular potatoes to start this out, but I had these on hand, buried in my freezer, and they cook in the microwave, less hassle for me!

You can also use regular cream cheese, I just happened to have the Neufchatel on hand.

You could also use whatever sort of cheese you had, I think any would work equally.

Now, start by popping the potatoes in the microwave, according to package directions (mine took 10 minutes on high). While they are doing their thing, go ahead and cube up your Neufchatel and shred your cheese:

Once your potatoes are done, wait about 2 minutes, then carefully pop open the bag, and dump them into a bowl with your milk & butter blend (use quantities recommended from package).

You can mash these by hand, or mixer. If I'm making regular mashed potatoes, I usually will just do them by hand, so as not to overwork them, but since I was going to be incorporating other ingredients and wanted it to be smooth, I used my KitchenAid. Once you get the potatoes started, and they're about halfway mashed, go ahead and add in your cream cheese (8 oz block cubed), shredded cheese (about 2 oz), sour cream (I just grabbed a big spoonful), and the onion powder (I just sprinkled some in, I'm guessing, about a half a tsp):

Mix until combined and kinda smooth. Spray a casserole dish (I used 9x13) with cooking spray, then spread the potato mixture in the dish evenly. Sprinkle with salt & pepper, and dot with some additional butter.

Bake @ 350 for about 20-30 minutes, until heated through. Serve

I forgot to take the picture until some of it had been served up, but I think you get the idea :)

Fabulous 5

So, here's the challenge. Go to your picture folders (or where ever you store them) and randomly select one subfolder (if you don't have subfolders, improvise) Then, select pic # 4, 7, 12, 16, & 22 (Again, if this folder doesn't have that many... just go with it) This probably works best if you're like me and have a folder that just seems to collect all sorts of random pictures with no real theme, there's always plenty of pics in the folder.

Here are mine:

This was taken a couple years ago on a trip to Vegas. It was the last night we were there, so we were walking around on the strip, trying to see/do as much as possible before going home. This shot is down by the Venetian, of course it was FREEZING out there, so it has hard to get a shot without shaking.

This is the hole in my backyard. They started semi filling it in with rocks when they were doing construction, now it's just there, one of these mornings, I'm going to be taking Zali out and I'll be half asleep, and when she starts down the incline (because heaven forbid she should pee on flat land) I'm going to lose my balance and go tumbling down this.

I'm a little behind on sorting, clipping, filing coupons. 'Nuff said.

I was just messing around with my camera when I took this picture, though one of my FAVORITE shows is on :)

These things are taking over my backyard

Very important rule

Just wanted to share an important rule. After applying flea medicine to your pet, do not pet your pet (lol) where the medicine was applied, or snuggle up... unless you're thinking about getting your lip pierced or something, in which case, it would probably make a nice anesthetic.

Monday night, we were settling in to watch a movie, and the monster, aka Zali was curled up beside of me being sweet. So I nuzzled up to her, not thinking that just a couple hours beforehand we had put her Advantage on.

At first, I just noticed the smell on my hands (it surprisingly smells good, kinda tropical) then I notice that my lips are going numb. At which point I calmly ask my roomie to pause the DVD, and jump up heading for the kitchen. I grab the first cup I find and start rinsing my mouth out with water, repeatedly. Then I decide that just rinsing over my lips probably isn't 100% effective, so I grab the first thing I see (Dawn Dishwashing liquid) and quickly squirt some into my hand, and begin scrubbing my lips. After a few more rinses, I determine that's probably all I can do. My roomie has at this point called in to see what I'm doing, so I make my way back to the living room, giving him the story.

Thankfully, my lips are still attached just fine!

Consumer Research at it's finest

Do you like getting freebies in the mail? I love it, especially when they are not your run of the mill freebies. I'm not going to take the time to bullet out the places you can go for free samples, there are plenty of other sites that do that. What I want to share today, is my review of some neat programs you can sign up for that may just leave you with a surprise in your mailbox.

First up:

BzzAgent

BzzAgent is a "word of mouth" advertising program. They work with a variety of companies that want to advertise by giving away a select number of their product. How it works is simple. You sign up via their website and complete a basic profile. You then will also randomly complete brief surveys, etc that help guage your particular interests. When a campaign opens that matches your demographics, you'll be alerted to sign up. You get a "bzzcampaign" package in the mail with all the necessary items. My roomie & I both participate in this. I can't even begin to remember everything they've sent us... Just last week, I got a Glade Sense 'n Spray. A couple months ago, I got one of the new Cover Girl Lip Inks. About a year ago, my roomie got sent a Logitech Universal Remote (It's an AWESOME remote, with touch screen, etc... that retails for $200). Sometimes I go months and don't get anything, but then again, it's not like I'm working for them either. In exchange, after you've tried the product, they want you to create buzz about it, positive or negative depending on how much you like it. They usually give you coupons you can share, etc. You then complete surveys, etc and let them know how you shared. Pretty simple.

Up Next:

Pssst from General Mills

Pssst is a program General Mills offers, that allows you to learn more about new products and promotions. Most of what I have received from them has been in the form of coupons emailed to me. However l also received a package from them yesterday. Inside was a full size box of a new flavor of Fiber One Granola Bars (a 5 ct box) AND coupons! I didn't even request it, they just sent it! Pretty cool...

Moving on to:
SheSpeaks

SheSpeaks is a website for women, about women, by women. It's a forum, that contains all sorts of topics for women. The website itself is pretty interesting. There are also a variety of market research opportunities they offer from time to time. I've received chocolate, vitamin C packets... and today I'm receiving a Haagen-Daaz Party Package... Yup... they are sending me a package of their 7 new pints of Haagen-Daaz, along with coupons, and goodies to do an ice cream tasting party.

So what are you waiting for? There are others out there, and over the next few weeks, I'll try to share more of the programs I participate in. But for now, I've got some ice cream to watch for!

Some deals around town

Here's a couple of my favorite deals I've spotted recently:

Meijer:
I'm a greeting card person, I love them. I stopped in Meijer this weekend, and as I walked through the card section, I noticed some coupon tearpads. Meijer has a coupon for $2 off when you buy 3 American Greetings cards. They also have an assortment of cards for just $.99 each. That means you get 3 cards for $1 - The coupon is good through April 12th


Kroger:
I just happen to LOVE the new Cherry Diet Dr Pepper. Kroger has a sale right now, you buy 2 - 12 packs of any Dr Pepper and you get one free. Which makes them $2.34 each... not a bad deal. However, if you've already been buying Dr Pepper (or if you want to repeat this transaction) many of the 12 packs are advertising a $1 coupon inside. If you use 3 of these (because you are purchasing 3 12 packs) you can get the 3 - 12 packs for just $4 or $1.33 each

( I can see the mountain of Dr Pepper I shall be constructing, lol)

Yummy*updated*

Crystal over at MSM is having a Baking Day. Sounded appealing, but I wasn't in the mood to spend all day in the kitchen with the oven going, but I thought it was a good idea to get a few things knocked out of the way for later. So I decided to join in. I've mixed up:

French Breakfast Puffs - Popping them in the freezer to enjoy throughout the week
Baked Pasta - Going in the freezer for later this week
Soup Beans - Possible dinner tonight for roomie
Frito Crockpot Candy - Intrigued me, so I decided to try them, they are yummy!

*Update, I also whipped up some yummy breadsticks, no photo, sorry :)

And I made some cornbread to go with the beans for my roomie :)

My new KitchenAid stand mixer really got a good workout today!

Life with the monster

Anyone who doesn't think that a pet isn't like a child should try living in my house for a week. While there are some obvious differences, trust me when I say that parenting a puppy can be even more difficult than parenting a child. So, several months ago, I shared with you about our new addition Zali. In the months since she has moved in she has brought many joys and many frustrations, such as "the candy corn incident" and of course she was officially dubbed "the monster" awhile back after devouring a few remote controls.

I am continuously amazed at how she learns new skills to both dazzle and try us. In fact as I am sitting here trying to type this post, I am being targeted with a ferocious onslaught of doggie love. Like any parent, I am the master at holding a wiggly child in one hand while cleaning up a mess with the other.

I think that Zali's goal is to teach us new lessons, I'm still trying to figure out what yesterday's lesson was exactly. Yesterday Zali became obsessed with soda cans. She managed to find one everytime I turned my back, and I would be alerted to her discovery by the cruching of the can. She even proceeded after having a can taken away from her, to hop onto the couch, near where a small table was. She sat behind the table, calm as could be, and punched with one paw (think kickboxing) and successfully knocked a empty can my roomie had finished earlier to the floor.

About 30 minutes later, I was sitting in the living room and I heard one of the cats make a strange noise, I peered around my laptop to discover that it was Smokie (Zali's favorite unwilling partner in crime) who was laying on his side, with the most peculiar look on his face. Why? Because Zali had plopped down and made herself comfy, using him as a bench.

I can't help but to wonder what comes next. And just when I think that the little monster is going to drive me mad, she comes up, cuddles beside of me and lays her head on my leg.

Perseverance and Lessons Learned

Lessons I learned this weekend:

1. Pizza Sauce is not a good tool for mopping the kitchen floor

2. Just a little butter will ensure a clean release of pizza dough from the pan

3. Egg whites are a great way to glue your waxed paper to your baking sheet


Saturday evening, I decide to make a homemade pizza for dinner. This can be a time consuming process, but the results are worth it. I started by making some dough. Next after getting the dough into a pan, I topped with my yummy homemade pizza sauce. What happened next, is still unclear, but somehow as I turned away to call to my roommate to come into the kitchen to help with toppings, I bumped the pan, and it fell from the counter. And of course... it flipped on the way down, landing sauce side down. You can imagine the fun of cleaning up this saucy, doughy mess, all while trying to keep the monster at bay!

Fast forward a bit, I recently bought a new Kitchen Aid stand mixer, and decide I wanted to give making meringues a shot. So of course it would only make since that the perfect time to start such a finicky recipe would be after having already had a dinner fiasco... Unfortunately, I pulled the meringues a little too soon from the bowl, and they hadn't quite reached the right stage.

Meringues take about 2 hours to bake, so an hour later when I peeked in the oven, and looked at the sad little meringue blobs... they had completely melted flat onto the pan. So I turned the oven off, and decided to wait until morning, to deal with the cleanup. I got up Sunday morning to find that the meringues, in their melting process, had completely glued themselves and the waxed paper to the baking sheet.

I did however succeed in making a pizza the second night. And yesterday, I made my second attempt at meringues, these turned out MUCH better.

Trying to decide what my next kitchen disaster will be :)

Spring Cleaning

Anyone looking for a random kitchen accessory/appliance? I'm going through the cabinets and drawers, and trimming down the things I have no use for, or have multiple of. I've decided that there are just too many things not getting enough use, and things that I'll never get around to using, etc... so I've started a box of things I no longer have a use for. Now I just need to decide what to do with it all. Having a yard sale isn't very practical here, so I think I'm going to start craiglisting it all. I'm also going to post some of the things up here on this blog, so if you're local and I have something you might be interested in, you can let me know. I'm also open to barter/trade for any of the items.

I haven't had a chance to take any pics, but if you're in the market for some dishes, an electric mixer, a turbo cooker, or a "GT express" let me know. I also have a coffee table and an ionic hair straightener I'm getting rid of as well

What's for dinner?

I tried a new recipe from Tammy's Recipes for Spinach Rice Casserole. I am not a spinach eater myself, but my roomie thought it was quite good!

It's a pretty simple recipe, I made a couple minor modifications to the original, based on what I had on hand:

9 or 10 ounces fresh spinach leaves ( some people who reviewed the recipe used frozen, I went ahead and picked up fresh, it was on sale)
1 tablespoon water (I used a couple extra tablespoons of water)
1 teaspoon dried onion or 2 tablespoons of fresh, minced onion (Didn't have either, used 1/2 tsp onion powder instead)
1 cup cooked rice (measurement is after cooking, not before) (I had a pack of 2 of the Minute Rice cups that already cooked, that you microwave to heat up, since I was cooking the rice in the casserole, I didn't bother to microwave, used both cups, which equalled a little over a cup, but worked great!)
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
1/3 cup milk
2 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon sal
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

Start by wilting down your spinach leaves. I did this by dropping about half of them into a large pan with a couple tablespoons of water, over low-med heat. Pop a lid on, and periodically turn the leaves as the bottom ones wilt. As there is room in the pan, add more leaves until you get all of the leaves worked in. Once all the leaves are wilted down, remove from heat and allow to cool. (I removed the spinach to another dish, and spread them out so they would cool quicker) I prefer doing this because if you try to add the hot spinach to the rest of the dish, you can end up cooking the eggs a bit prematurely, which wouldn't be that tasty.

Mix the rest of the ingredients together. Stir in spinach. Place in a greased 8x8 casserole and bake at 325 for 35-40 minutes, or until middle is just set (you can check this with a fork) Keep in mind that you'll have some carryover cooking, so it'll finish once you pull it from the oven and let it stand.

Some great deals out there

Have you filed your taxes and now you want to treat yourself to something with your refund? Well, I'm not suggesting that you blow all of it, but there's nothing wrong with a great bargain.

I'm a big fan of Wisebread.com - They have a Best Deals link that gets updated throughout the day with the best that's out there on the web.

One great deal they alerted me to... courtesy of Fat Wallet... is that through Feb 28th Amazon.com is offering $20 off instantly from your $49 or more in selected Andis products. You just enter code ANDSFEB9 at your checkout. You can click HERE for the post and it has a link to the Andis products in the Amazon store. I was able to snag 2 new hair dryers (one for me & one for my roomie) and a new flat iron (all of which were on sale!) for $53, less the $20 = $33, and then I had $29 in Amazon gift cards from my banking rewards... Grand total was around $7 and shipping was free!!!!

Remember, before you decide to make a big purchase, do a little homework, there are plenty of bargains to be had!

Just for fun, vote for me!

There is a little contest going on that I entered, so I am shamelessly plugging my entry :) (it's ok, you're supposed to tell your friends, and my readers are my friends!) Just go to this link Before noon on Friday (tomorrow) and vote for "Melissa" PLEASE & Thank you!

Here's my entry (which can be seen on the page) It looks better on the page, because I can't get this version of it to sparkle :)

Free Breakfast Tomorrow (Tuesday)

Tomorrow (Feb 3rd) Denny's Restaurant is giving away a free grand slam breakfast to everyone. Click here for details

Some great deals abound!

You'll have to use your imagination on this one for right now... I took pictures of my shopping trip with my phone, but last week I had modified the settings on my camera, and I can't figure out where it's saving the pictures!

So anyways, it's been awhile since I've shared some bargains, yesterday I managed to score some amazing deals. My kitchen cabinets are thoroughly stocked with all sorts of things.

First stop was Kroger, they're doing some really good sales this week. They have one of those promotions where if you can get $5 off your order for buying 10 products from certain groups.

Kraft Cheese is part of this sale. It's on sale for 1.99 for a variety of slices, shredds, cubes and chunks. There is also this little blinkie in some of the Kroger's that will give you a $.75 off one Kraft 2% variety. I usually buy the 2% varieties anyway, so this was a great deal. Between pizzas and casseroles, salads, sandwiches, snacks, pasta, etc... cheese will definitely be used in this house, and I had the fridge space... so I actually bought 10 packs of Kraft cheese! (Yes, I know it sounds like alot!) I got 7 bags of shredded, 1 pack of slices, and 2 blocks of Colby.
Let's look at the cost:
Kraft Cheese on sale for 1.99 each X 10 = 19.90
Less 10 blinkies for .75 : 19.90 - 7.50 = 12.40
Less $5 for purchasing 10 promotion: 12.40 - 5 = $7.40

$7.40 isn't a bad deal at all for 10 packs of cheese, it makes the cheese just $.74 a pack

Quaker Rice Cakes were on sale for $1 each, I had coupons from recent insert for $1 off, making them free.

Hormel Chili is on sale for $1 a can (Kev eats the vegetarian variety for lunch sometimes) and it's part of the "10/$5" promotion. I also had some coupons for $.55 off 2 cans from last week's inserts. I think I bought 8 cans total.

Rotel Canned Tomatoes are on sale for $1 and part of the same promotion, I had some $.30 off coupons (Kroger doubles to $.60 off) from last week's inserts, so I picked up some of those as well.

Kleenex Tissue is on sale for $1.59 and is part of the sale, I had some $.40 manufacturer's coupons from recent inserts, so that went into the mix as well.

Horizon Organic Single Serve milk is on sale for $1, there were recent coupons for $.25 off one (doubled) - I picked up a couple to use for cooking (I don't drink milk, Kev only drinks Soy)

I can't remember all the rest of the bargains, but those were the highlights. If I find my pics I'll update.

At Mejier, I worked a few good deals, the best being Kellogg's Cereal deal :

Kellogg's Cereal (select varieties) is on sale for $3 a box. If you buy 4 boxes, you get $2 off your transaction. I bought 4 boxes = $12 - $2 off - 2 Coupons for B1G1Free peelies - 2 $1 coupons = $2 for 4 boxes of cereal.

My grand total's for shopping:

Well at Kroger, my total when I checked out was $38 for $137 worth of groceries. However, I had bought an air freshner that was a holiday scent and was supposed to be $5.24 (and it had a $3 peelie on it, so it would have been $2.24) but it rang up as $10.49. I stopped at customer service and they checked, and told me since it rang up incorrectly, they were giving me the item free, so they refunded me the FULL purchase price of $11.12 (with tax) so my total at Kroger was only around $27! (It pays to check receipts!)

At Meijer, my total was around $32, but I had one transcation that didn't discount, so they gave me a $2 off my next purchase.

And I'm pretty stocked on the essentials now!

Want to know more of how I save big at the store, just ask! I'll be happy to share my tips!

The monster in my house

There is a monster in my house. As a child, we sometimes are afraid of the monster in the closet or under the bed. Thankfully, I am not afraid of this monster, in fact, I'm quite smitten with her. She's a monster none the less. I willingly allowed this monster into my house.

This monster comes in the form of a 5 and a half month old puppy, named Zali. Have you seen the movie "Marley & Me" yet? This is Zali... and while I'm happy that she won't age at the speed of a 2 hour movie... I wouldn't mind getting past this puppy phase.

Being a puppy means that Zali is into anything and EVERYTHING she can get het little teeth on. And she is suprisingly swift when your back is turned. I have had not one, but 2 planners devoured... and with the second one, I do mean DEVOURED.

She has managed to climb into laundry shelves, and ate laundry pre treater! Just last week... I made the mistake of thinking my coupon binder was out of her reach... TWICE in one day! The second time did it in... and now I've got a few hours to spend putting together all the little slips of paper I came home to find spread across the living room floor. Suprisingly, she didn't eat the coupons... just the binder!

Saturday morning, when my roomie & I came downstairs, Kev discovered that he had forgot and left his cell phone on the couch... That morning, when he let her out, he left her downstairs to catch a little more sleep. She decided to start making phone calls! Luckily his phone only had a couple small scratches to the back.

Yesterday, I had the misfortune of leaving my cell phone down... and she managed to get her teeth on it. I do admit I become a bigger fan of my phone everyday... she actually chewed the back off the phone and it still works! Luckily I have a replacement back!

For all the terror that she brings to the house, she also brings joy. She is so loving and affectionate that you can't hold a grudge long. Sometimes, she gets herself into something she can't get out of. Below is a prime example. Friday evening, we were in the living room watching tv, and I suddenly realized that I hadn't heard from her in a bit. I wandered into the kitchen and found her with her head stuck in a Pepsi box. She wasn't moving... just standing there... I think she was freaked out. So I did what any pet parent would do... I quickly called Kev to come see... and then we grabbed the camera to take a picture... then rescued her!

My house, the obstacle course...

I realized this morning that my house is an obstacle course. Now you might think that this is due to my housekeeping skills... and you would be wrong.

Just this morning, I woke up and as I approached the darkened landing upstairs, eyes still have closed with sleep, I feel something at my feet. Instinctively, I raise my leg and attempt to step over this obstacle that is preventing me from making it into said landing from my bedroom. Ha! If only it were that easy, no, I guess I should have mentioned that my house is not only an obstacle course, but an ever changing obstacle course. For you see... as I stand, balanced on one foot, each place I attempt to put my other foot, I suddenly encounter another obstacle. And just as I finally manage, mainly due to the fact that one doesn't really have much balance when they are half asleep, to land a foot to the ground, I am suddenly thrown off balance as the afor mentioned obstacle brushes against me.

Somehow I manage to make my way on into the landing, and luckily down the stairs without further incident... this time...

I think pets have a wicked sense of humor. I can only imagine that in their mind, the thought is " Oooh, there she goes, let's watch her dance! Ha! Right foot up, oooh, she's going to the left, gotcha! Take that! I'll purr now, she will think I just want attention!"

And don't even get me started on the audience you get when trying to use the bathroom!