The kids were really into Jovie-Belle, their Elf on the Shelf, this year. These are a few of my favorites. Post your favorites in the comments! (I have a bunch on Pinterest too… some appropriate, some not at all.)
We didn’t get crazy creative every night, but the kids really made a big deal about finding her every morning. Maybe next year we’ll get a second elf and have some more fun.
My wife got a great shot of our cat Butterscotch in the Christmas tree. I know some amusing people. Let’s have a caption contest in the comments!
Caption this in the comments!
I got some funny ones too, but Bethany‘s shot takes the cake:
Chick-fil-A wrote back to me, and sadly I predicted that they’d give me the “no unsolicited ideas” speech which is equivalent to the “it’s not you, it’s me” speech. Shenanigans, I tell you.
From: Chick-fil-A CARES <chickfilacares@na.ko.com>
Date: Wed, Dec 26, 2012 at 8:09 PM
Subject: Chick-fil-A Response
To: <me@my.email.address>Dear Valued Customer:
Thank you for taking the time to contact Chick-fil-A. You are very important to us, and we appreciate your suggestion regarding the cup holders. We hope the following information will be helpful.
Chick-fil-A is fortunate to have many loyal customers. Many of these fans take the time and effort to inquire about sharing their own ideas about ways they wish to see us improve – whether it is adding a specific new product, service or feature. We are grateful for our customers’ intent, and this motivates us to work even harder to keep improving.
Unfortunately, it is our corporate policy not to accept or consider any unsolicited creative ideas. This is a difficult decision because we realize that by following this policy, Chick-fil-A may miss out on some great ideas from our customers. We would rather miss out on some of these ideas than to risk any potential future misunderstanding should Chick-fil-A develop or already have developed a product, service, or feature that may seem similar to a customer’s idea.
We hope you will understand the reasons for our policy. You can view our Unsolicited Ideas Policy at www.chick-fil-a.com/Legal (under Submissions) for more information on this issue. Beyond this policy, we gladly welcome customers’ feedback about their restaurant experiences.
We appreciate your family’s loyalty, and we look forward to serving you all at Chick-fil-A for many years to come. Again, thank you for your time and interest in Chick-fil-A.
Sincerely,
Cheala
Chick-fil-A CARES
Chick-fil-A…We Didn’t Invent The Chicken,
Just The Chicken Sandwich.
On the Web at www.chick-fil-a.comP.S. Please retain your ticket number. This will help us locate your information should you need us again.
{ticketno:[8002084683]}
So, of course I wrote back…
From: <me@my.email.address>
Date: Thu, Dec 27, 2012 at 4:56 PM
Subject: Re: Chick-fil-A Response
To: Chick-fil-A CARES <chickfilacares@na.ko.com>Hello Cheala,Any idea how I can get my idea solicited? I’m honestly not interested in monetary compensation, I just don’t want to spill my drinks. Has anyone run this by Mr. Cathy? He’s responded to my emails before, and I understand that he’s a shrewd business man as well as a great family man. I’m sure he wouldn’t want drinks spilling on anyone… and that he’d like to pick up a free idea.
Thanks once again for your time & help!
My pleasure,
-Eric
Wonder if I’ll get a reply? I just want a good cup holder.
I plan to send this to Chick-fil-A, and we’ll see where it goes. I just realized, I’ve written about Chick-fil-A several times here before.
Dear Chick-fil-A,
I have an idea for you. I realize that as a giant corporation you probably don’t accept unsolicited ideas, but please don’t let that stop you from considering this idea. I don’t expect monetary payment, maybe just free Chick-fil-A for life? (Maybe a limit to once a week?) Well, I guess I should present my idea before we start talking payment or barter.
This past Saturday I went to the Chick-fil-A in South Hills to grab some of those ridiculously delicious Chick-n-Minis™ for breakfast. I went into the store to order take-out so I could grab some mayo packets, ketchup, straws, & napkins at the little condiment station. I got two drinks because I was taking breakfast home to share with the wife. I opted for your highly addictive sweet tea, and the wife had a Hi-C Fruit Punch. The always courteous employees offered me a drink carrier, and I accepted. I thought it would make life easier on the ride home. I saw wrong.
I set the drink carrier on the floor of the passenger’s side of my truck. As I backed out of the space, it fell over on to the long side. Your drink lids are thankfully quite tight, but sadly not entirely waterproof. I leaned over and placed the carrier & drinks upright again, this time turning the drink holder 90 degrees the other way thinking I had outsmarted the laws of physics and that it would stay put. I could not have been more mistaken. As I turned up a hill to go out the back of the parking lot, it fell again. I believe I uttered something using vocabulary that you may not approve. At the stop sign, I had to pick up the cups and give up by putting them in the truck’s drink holders.
As I drove home trying not to think about the drops of Hi-C & iced tea soaking into my floor mats, I wondered if there was a better way. I certainly like your drink carriers much better than the egg-crate 4 space things that just let cups lean over all willy-nilly. I came to think that your drink carriers just need feet. I thought the feet may take some extra cardboard, and wondered i something could be done with the existing design.
At home, my thoughts were fueled by poultry protein. I pulled out my pocket knife and started cutting as my wife looked at me like I was a crazy person (as she does quite often). I explained what I was doing and why and she actually also thought it was a good idea.
You already have some nice sturdy cardboard. Two well-placed quarter-circle cuts & maybe even a fold mark in the middle of the carrier would create some nice sturdy feet or “wings” or your drink carrier box without the need for a complete redesign or any additional material. I tested it by trying to rock the mostly empty drinks back & forth on the kitchen table. We had no spills. I am willing to try some field tests if you’d like to move forward with this idea. My truck’s floor mats can handle it. Perhaps I can even use water instead of red & brown sugary liquids.
I’m sure we could talk to your box people & find out if this is doable for a reasonable price. I think it will be as important & innovative as the new Heinz® Dip & Squeeze® packets! I have some photos attached that I’m sure you will agree are quite illustrative of my design ideas. Sadly, my pocket knife is a cheap dull one, so the cut looks more like a rip. I believe you’ll see my intent though.
I look forward to hearing your thoughts, and am excited at the opportunity that lays before us. It would be my pleasure to help make this dream a reality!
Eat Mor Chikin!
-Eric
And the attached photos:
So, there we have it. I mean, most of my letters are plain goofy, and this has a goofy tone, but really… don’t you think this would work? Now, we wait for a response.
We have another maze solution! This one is from Jennifer B, she said her son worked through the Peculiarly Perplexing Path in a half hour. I hope the family is able to roll through some more of my mazes, and glad you’re having fun with this one!
From: Jennifer B.
Date: Sat, Mar 3, 2012 at 9:06 PM
Subject: I DID IT! The Peculiarly Perplexing Path – Maze Solution
To: world.and.lunar.domination@gmail.comHey there,
I couldn’t resist sharing your latest maze with my kids. They love a challenge! Here is my 11 year old’s solution.JenniferB
Check it out…
Cool! Jennifer’s kid rocks! Thanks for taking the time to solve it & for taking the time to send it in!
As always, if you try any of my mazes, send a scan or photo of the solution to world.and.lunar.domination@gmail.com!
Have no fear! I’ve only slowed down with the mazes, I haven’t stopped. I’m waiting for some of you to catch up with me. That’s right, I need more solutions!
I used smaller paper with this one, so I don’t think it’s as large/complicated as the last few.
If you’ve attempted & completed a solution, send a photo or scan to me at world.and.lunar.domination@gmail.com, or post a link to it in the comments here.
![Peculiarly Perplexing Path [Maze]](https://aixelsyd13.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/peculiarly-perplexing-path-maze.png "Peculiarly Perplexing Path [Maze]")
Peculiarly Perplexing Path (Maze)
So, I made some really easy turkey noodle soup yesterday. It turned out to be pretty delicious, and I lucked out because a lot of the ingredients were on sale.
My cell phone takes absolutely terrible photos, but trust me... this was delicious.
In the morning, I popped 2 turkey breast cutlets into the crock pot, piled on top of chopped baby-cut carrots & celery. I added some a cup of water with a chicken bullion cube… and piled on some spices; Poultry Seasoning, Season All, black pepper, garlic, sage, and parsley. I should have probably added an onion, but I forgot.
8 hours later, I boiled some wide noodles in 2 cans of turkey broth, 2 cans of vegetable broth, and 2 cans of low sodium chicken broth. When the noodles were cooked, I chopped up the turkey boobs, and dumped the contents from the crock pot into the boiling pot of noodles for the soup… I added a little more water, another bullion cube, and simmered for a while.
Result? Rather effortless yet delicious soup.
I found myself wondering if the broth & noodles would have cooked well in the crock pot. Will noodles cook well without the boiling & just the saturation? Would they eventually fall apart if over-cooked?
I’ve also done something similar with a rotisserie chicken… I’ll sauté the carrots, celery, & maybe garlic & onion with some butter in the soup pot, then add chicken and/or vegetable broth, boil the noodles, & add chicken.
How do you make chicken or turkey noodle soup?
How do you make your other favorite kinds of soup?
Have any secret ingredients?
I generally put in cayenne or something else hot… but I’ve been told to cool it with the spices for a while thanks to G.E.R.D. lately. Sometimes I add beer to soups… just because I can. I dunno if it’d go well in chicken or turkey noodle though?
