• I’ve been doing SO well lately. I guess it’s been about a week and 1/2 now. It’s like I’m so happy and nothing can bring me down…not that I’d want it to. I just feel so emotionally free to be me and feel less bogged down with a ton of emotionally draining stuff I had gotten used to dealing with. Now that I’ve no longer got that issue in my life, I feel like I could conquer the world!

• My coffee today is SO good. This time I am drinking Bella-Vista Blend by Starbucks. I know it’s Starbucks, and Starbucks tends to taste a bit burned, but I’ve noticed that this higher quality stuff they’ve been putting out lately is truly delicious. I also strayed from my usual Hazelnut Coffee Mate Creamer and am now trying Vanilla Nut. It’s so tasty and a wonderful trade-off from Hazelnut.

• My landlord came over the other day and plotted out a big area where he is going to rototill a spot for us to plant a big garden. I seriously just cannot wait! It’s been so long since I’ve grown veggies. I will be spending so much time outside…which I normally do in the summer, anyway. We plan to grow carrots, tomatoes, potatoes, onions, lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, and a bunch of other tasty stuff. It’ll be so awesome. My Mom is really good with canning, too, so she can bottle a bunch of it up so it’ll last us a really long time. We’ll grow lots of cucumbers as well so that she can make pickles. Mmm…homemade pickles are the best!

• Lonnie’s 32nd birthday was on the third of March. He said it was one, if not THE best birthdays ever! He not only got a lot of gifts, but I baked him the cake he really wanted and we all spent a lot of time together as a family. For dinner, my Mom bought a couple Dominoes pizzas, so that was a treat, too. We very rarely eat out at all. It’s just too expensive. I will be blogging lots of pictures that I took on his birthday. One of the gifts he got….the one from my Mom…made his whole year! I can’t wait to post the pictures of him opening it. I’m not going to say what it is. I don’t want to ruin it. Hehe

• I am on Facebook again. I know I swore that I’d never go back there, but oh well. One of my best friends, Jenn, kinda talked me into it. Well, not really talked me into it…but just hearing about how much fun she was having over there made me want to give it another shot. I’m so glad I did, too!!! I not only hooked up with my brother, John, there…but I am talking with my best friend from High School, Tera, again!!! It’s so awesome to be talking with her! I’m going to be going back to Billings, MT next summer, so I will get to see her again, too. Not only that, but I’ll get to see Casey, too!!!! I’m SO excited!!!! So much to look forward to!

• The person I had posted about before - ‘Kristy’ - she left a message in my shoutbox on My.Opera today. I was a bit…uh…stunned, to say the least. I’m not going to respond. As I’ve already stated, she’s dead to me. It was a nice message and I suppose I appreciate her attempt, but I just wish she’d move on for once and for all. I never even talk about her anymore…rarely think about her. I wish she’d just do the same for me. I feel so much more mature and emotionally stable now than I did when I was friends with her…I have zero reasons to rekindle anything with her. I feel like responding to her message would be the start of words being spoken back & forth and that’s simply not something I want…ever again. I was wronged and that’s the end of it.

• Speaking of the rest of the story…The great Paul Harvey died on March 7, 2009. He was 90 years old, so I’m happy that he lived a long and full life. He touched so many people’s lives, too. I remember watching his crotchety little speeches at the end of 60 Minutes when my parents were watching it when I was a kid. He always caught my attention. He will be missed by many, no doubt.

• Why does my daughter talk SO loudly when she’s on the phone with her friend?      Doesn’t she realize that the phone amplifies her voice and she doesn’t need to do that?! GOSH! How irritating. I’ll have to go ask her AGAIN to tone it down a bit.

• Lonnie is going to be heading to the grocery store in a little while. Better him than me. I absolutely detest grocery shopping. He’s nice enough to go do it for me most of the time. He also says that he’s more productive when I’m not with him, anyway. I tend to get him side-tracked. I also take pictures of everything, so that probably annoys the heck out of him.  

• I’ve made a few more really good online friends recently. I feel so blessed to be in contact with so many truly good people. I can’t tell you how many people wrote to me to ask me how I was doing after the “break-up” of my ex-friend and I. People I never even used to talk to. Apparently she’s done this to quite a few other people that I was unaware of, so now it’s almost like we’re forming an “Ex-Wives Club”….    
  I don’t say negative things about her, really. I simply speak my side of the story. There’s nothing good to come from defaming her. I just find it so interesting that this is a cycle which has apparently repeated itself quite a few times. If anything, I feel sorry for her. It’s obvious that she’s quite unhappy with herself. I hope that she will one day learn to stop pretending to be happy and learn to truly be happy. I, myself, feel truly happy at this point in my life, and lemme tell ya’…it’s a magnificent feeling! I’m sure that if she were truly happy with herself, none of this stuff would ever happen again. So, my wish for her is true happiness.

• Sorry I keep going back to talking about that situation. It’s weird how it keeps popping into my head as I type this. Perhaps I subconsciously wonder if she’ll read it or something, and maybe it’ll help. Not a clue, but I wish it’d stop. Like I said - I really AM over it. There were a few days where I was sad and felt like I missed her, but those days have long passed. Now I’m enjoying my life to its fullest.

• Okay - ENOUGH about that crap. I promise.

• I’ve been taking lots and lots of pictures, but haven’t had the time and/or gumption to get them resized and posted. Some of them are pretty awesome, too. As usually, there’s a little bit of this and a little bit of that…just whatever. I’ve snapped a few of random people as well, so I will be getting back to my Random Person of The Day© posts. I always did enjoy those.

• How can my feet possibly be this cold? I not only have socks on, but I also have my tootsies in my foot warmer/massager thingy. They’re still freezing. I must have the worst circulation of anyone I know.

• It’s odd that my circulation is so bad. I’ve been working out lately! Lonnie used his Christmas money from his grandparents to buy the family a membership to the local Rec. Center. They have a full gym with all the machines a person could ever want or need, a big pool with a slide and everything, hot tub, indoor track, basketball courts, rock climbing wall, FREE classes - such as Yoga, spinning, aerobics…etc. They have a bit of everything. It’s amazing. The cost is only $30/mo. for the family…but since he paid for a year in advance, he got a better deal. So anyway, I’ve been using it. I’m getting this old, flabby body into shape! I want to be able to post a picture of me in my bikini this summer and not feel totally self conscious about it. I normally pack on weight in the winter….always have. That’s a given for me. So now, I’m in the process of removing it. I love working out, too. The more energy you put out, the more you get back…and that feels great!

• I’m still having back/neck pain issues. Pretty bad ones, too. It’s preventing me from doing some exercises that I would really love to do, but that’s okay. I will slowly work up to them. My doctor referred me to a pain management clinic, so I should be getting in there any day now. I’m just waiting for a phone call from them. I’m very excited. If I can get this pain under control, I will feel so amazing!

• We’re still going to church every Sunday. I actually enjoy it quite a bit. Our pastor is a really personable and funny guy. He’s always telling stories that get the whole congregation laughing our keisters off. He makes learning about the Bible fun…and that’s a rare thing. I’ve only been to 3 or 4 churches prior to this one, and they were all so boring and bland. No life in there, really. This one is full of life and the people are so friendly. They’re not freaky, either. I don’t like the ones where people go nuts raising their hands, crying…all that. It makes me SO uncomfortable to be around this. The people at this church are just regular people like you and me…and are there to get a good message.

• It still feels weird for me to say that I’m going to church. I NEVER would have thought that I’d be saying that. I’m glad I am…it just takes me back a bit, though.

• Lonnie is looking at a Jack Russell Terrier online right now. These people are moving and can’t take their dog with ‘em. He’s 5 years old and is free. I don’t want a Jack Russell, though. I like them - very smart dogs. I want a Toy or Tea Cup Chihuahua and that’s final!      I won’t be happy ’til I get one! We can’t have a dog in this house, anyway, so the point is moot.

• I suppose I will wrap it up for this edition of Random Randomness©. It’s been SO long since I’ve posted one…feels weird to do it again. I’ll try to get better about posting over here on my site, but no promises. Take care, everyone…thanks for dropping by!

• I got all my Christmas cards sent out tonight! I couldn’t have done it without the help of my beautiful daughter, though. She’s the one who actually ran them to the box while I video taped her doing so. We’re a tag-team of jolliness!

• Lonnie’s in some serious dental pain again. It makes me so sad. I wish there was something I could do. The last time, he had four teeth pulled on the right side of this mouth. This time he has a molar on the bottom left that’s really bothering him. He’ll either have to get a root canal or have it pulled. Either way…ouch.

• So, I found out earlier today that Pownce will be shutting down. I cannot even begin to explain how angry this makes me, so I won’t even try. All I will say is that they are money hungry sell-outs who should be ashamed of themselves.

• I’ve decided to do Christmas Cupcakes this year instead of Gingerbread Men like I did last year. I’m not sure what I’m going to do with them yet. I’m either considering a standard frosting with standard decorations on them, or I might use Fondant and do something super adorable with them. The latter method will take much more time, so I just don’t know. I have a HUGE list of people to make a cupcake for. I’ll just have to weigh the pros and cons.

• We just ran out of coffee creamer. Now I’m steamed.

• I got some women’s daily vitamins earlier tonight. Lonnie sent me to Walgreen’s to grab some for him, so I figured, “What the heck?!” and grabbed a bottle for me, too. They were on sale, so they were super cheap…err…inexpensive. They’re Walgreen’s brand, but hey - same thing as the other junk they charge out the buttocks for, right? I’ll let you know if I notice a change in energy.

• I hate it when I’m sitting on the toilet peeing and I reach over to grab some toilet paper and I suddenly notice that there’s hardly any left. So then I have an angel on one shoulder and Satan on the other. The angel is saying, “Just use the last of it and replace the roll. It’s the right thing to do.” But Satan, he’s a big jerk who’s saying, “Leave two squares on the roll so the next sucker who uses the toilet has to replace the roll!” Well, it must say something about my character that I’ve never listened to Satan. I always change the stinkin’ roll…begrudgingly, of course.

• I’m sick and tired of people thinking that my son and I are either boyfriend/girlfriend or brother/sister. I know I should take it as a compliment…blah, blah, blah. I don’t, though. I hate having to explain my relationship with strangers. What the heck business is it of theirs? Next time I’ll just say, “My boyfriend? Is that what they call pimps nowadays?”

• No, I’d never really do that. GOSH!

• Speaking of “Napoleon Dynamite”, he was on TV again last night. My son was watching it. He used to loathe the movie. Now he loves it. How does one go from hating something to loving it? My theory is that he’s heard me doing Napoleon impressions and making reference to the movie SO much that he had no choice but to watch it a couple times just to see what the heck I was on about…which resulted in his enjoyment of the movie! Mission accomplished!

• I got an email from someone asking if I would be willing to link to their site if they would link to mine. After looking at their site in detail, my thought was something like, “Mmmm…..I think I’ll pass.” It’s a gaming site. Not like the cool kind of gamers….like the Pogo type of gaming. Flash games. First of all, I rarely play those things myself, and even if I did, how the Hell is having a link to my site on a site like that going to benefit me? HE is clearly the one who would benefit from it…not me. So nah - I’ll pass. I didn’t even bother to email the guy back. Rude, perhaps. But I figured that if I emailed him, he’d email me back again with reasons why it really would work…etc. Meh…nope. Not biting.

• I ripped my French tips off again today after being on my computer for ten minutes. I don’t get it. I used to be able to go literally months with those things on and type like nobody’s business. Now when I have ‘em on, they drive me freakin’ nuts. I just can’t take it. They last two days and then BAM! I snap and rip ‘em off…which, I might add, hurts like the dickens.

• Where did the term, “Like the dickens” come from, anyway? I’m assuming it’s an English thing. Silly blokes.

• I need a coffee refill (imagine that), so I shall return briefly…

• I’m back. Don’t get too excited. You might fall backwards off your chair and break something vital…like your CPU.

• I don’t like Beck one bit.

• It’s 3:50AM right now. I swore I was going to try to get on a regular schedule today. Darn it. I blew it again.

• Maybe I should go lay down in bed and attempt to sleep. I mean, an attempt is better than nothing, right? I have to be up in a few hours to wake my daughter up for school and whatnot, though, so it just seems kinda stupid. As soon as I fall asleep, it’s time to wake up. Duh. What’s the point in that?

• Our house is 3/4 decorated for Christmas. We have so much stuff, we have to decorate in shifts. Tomorrow should be the last day and then we’ll be done. It’ll look so jolly in here that Santa, himself, would be like, “Wow. These people need to learn moderation!”

• I’m feeling so sorry for Lonnie and his pain that I’m going to get off of here and go offer him a massage or something to take his mind off his tooth pain. The poor guy. It’s like just as soon as one thing is taken care of, something else pops up. I feel so helpless. All I can do is be supportive and sympathetic. At least I’m good at those things.

• Have a wonderful day, everyone! Remember to be nice. Santa sees everything you do.

• Thanksgiving went pretty well, I suppose. As you probably know by now, I loathe cooking, so Thanksgiving is basically the most torturous holiday of all for me. Lonnie helped me quite a bit this year which not only surprised me, but made me appreciate him SO much! The only thing my mother did was make her special stuffing and then stuff and sew up the turkey. Lonnie and I did everything else. The menu was ridiculously huge. We had a turkey AND a ham.

• Last night was spa night for my daughter and me. Every Sunday is. I know I’ve mentioned it before. I did her nails, moisturized her skin, did her hair…and we were going to do facial masks, but time ran out. She had to get to bed. We got a late start. Maybe we’ll do the masks tonight instead.

• As usual, I’m using OneNote© to compose this again. Of all the Microsoft programs out there, I’m honestly thinking this is my very favorite. It’s just capable of so much and makes writing so much easier.

• For those of you who aren’t aware, I posted the the story of my past the other day. I’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback, which feels really nice. I honestly didn’t expect too much feedback. Normally when someone hears the story, they’re so taken back that they don’t know what to say. I have the best friends in the world, though, so they know exactly what to say!

• I downloaded the newest version of Yahoo! Messenger earlier today. Wow… I freakin’ LOVE it! I’ve totally been missing out by using the older version. I love this newer version! So hip and cool lookin’. Now if they could just get some decent music on LaunchCast, I’d be 100% content with it!

• We went into Whole Foods for the first time the other day. My God…the stench of that place literally gags me. It’s basically a natural and organic market. In other words, a hippie grocery store. That’d pretty much explain the stench. Wow…it was bad. The reason we went in there was to get some Black Currant Gel Caps. The stuff helps with energy levels, so that’s why we take it. Well, we had better either find a new place to buy it or Lonnie can go buy it by himself next time. I refuse to subject myself the the stench of Whole Foods ever again!

• I sent a little care package to my friends Matthew and Sarah the other day. I can’t wait ’til they get ‘em. It’s nothing big - no biggie AT ALL…I just love sending stuff to people. I’m easy to entertain.

• My Holiday Card Project has had a wonderful turn-out! I’m so thrilled!!! I haven’t bought the cards yet, though, so I have to do that TODAY. I’ve told everyone that I’m mailing the cards out on December 1st…which is today! It’s only 1:35AM on December 1st right now, but as soon as I get my daughter off to school in the morning, I’m headed to the store to buy boxes of cards. I’ve got quite a few on my list, so I will need at least two or three boxes. Yay! I’m stoked!!!

• I feel a headache brewing. I have my hair up in a pony tail. I’d be willing to bet that’s why the headache is brewing. It happens every single time. Down with the hair, I go!

• Ahhh….much better.

• Poor Lonnie. He’s been working so hard. He’s asleep sitting up in his chair right now. :heart breaks: I hate seeing him so over-worked. I’m kinda over-worked, too, but I don’t care about that. It’s seeing how badly it’s affecting him that’s really hard on me. I’m going to go cover him with a blanket at least….

• I want to make coffee SO badly, but I have my coffee maker totally disassembled and soaking in cleaning solution. It was pretty gross. I needed to clean it out badly. I have some of those instant Folgers Crystals down there in the kitchen. I hate the thought, but I just might give in and make myself some. Tea just won’t cut it in this case.

• I give in. Folgers Disgusting Crystals of Hell, here I come!…..

• Okay, I’m back with my poor excuse for coffee.

• I got slightly side-tracked while in the kitchen. I unloaded the dishwasher, reloaded the dishwasher, disinfected all the counter tops, and did a load of laundry. Yes….I’m insane.

• Speaking of being insane with the cleaning…I’ve got quite the predicament going on right now. My vacuum is broken. I know exactly what’s wrong with it and what it needs, but I cannot afford the buy the piece to fix it at this time. Soooo, I’ve gone from vacuuming at least daily to not being able to vacuum at all. It’s killing me. I’m about ready to lose it. With each day that passes, I see new little chunks of this and that on the carpet. I keep kneeling down and picking them up, but that’ll only take a person so far. There comes a time when a vacuum is needed. That time was like a week ago. I’m freakin’ out over here!!!

• I suppose I should look to see how much the vacuum piece I need actually costs. What if it’s super cheap and I could’ve had it a long time ago? DOH!

• Lonnie’s cat, Grimmy, is in heat a-freakin’-gain. Grrrrr….the incessant whining, meowing, and wanting to hump me. Between the vaccum and now this, wow. I’m seriously going to end up freakin’ out on someone!

• I want to mow the lawn one last time before I call it quits for the season. The problem is that it won’t stop raining long enough. Not only do I want the grass to look good, but I need to run the mower out of gas so it doesn’t sit there for months with gas in it. That is SO bad for mowers.

• Lonnie is addicted to Orville Redenbacker’s Kettle Corn. He’s so addicted that he even does an Orville Redenbacker impresson! Hahaha…he’d probably kill me for divulging that, but it’s just so funny. He’s been crackin’ me up like you would NOT believe lately.

• Lonnie’s also been having a bit too much fun with the megaphone lately. Oh man, he is so funny with that thing. The other day we took the kids to Safeway and had Jameson run in for something. As soon as Lonnie saw Jameson headed back to the car, he rolled the window down, aimed the megaphone at Jameson and started yelling stuff like, “Hurry up, son!” “Come on! I’ve not got all night!”….:lol: Jameson was SO embarrassed, but man….I was rooooooooooooolling. I couldn’t breathe for quite a while.

• So yeah, in case you’ve not caught on, Lonnie and I have been getting along a lot better lately. He’s been doing his best to refrain from being so flippin’ serious all the time and it’s helped immensely. I mean, he’s with a big kid…he has to stop and have fun some times, right?

• I guess I’ll bring this one to an end. I’m just so chatty I could go on and on and on…but nobody wants to read a 17 page version of Random Randomness©, so I’ll stop. I hope everyone has a wonderful week! I will be getting those holiday cards out later today! Love you guys!!!

Self heating coffee? Huh?      You’re kidding, right?!

Heck no! The people over at OnTech have come out with this nifty container which is self heating!    

There are easy to understand instructions right on the container. Once you activate that mo-fo, you’ve got a hot Mocha in five minutes! No microwave or stove required! w00h00! They not only have coffee, but they’ve also got tea, soup, and cocoa!!!

Next time you’re waiting in line at a coffee shop, frustrated at taking time out from your busy day, remember that whether you are on your way to work, driving to a soccer game, or just on ehw ay home for a movie night, Hillside Coffee is the most convenient and delicious on-the-go option. Available in four great flavors: French Vanilla, Mocha, Hazelnut, or Doubleshot.

I personally tried the Mocha variety. I was astounded when I took the first sip and not only was it super hot, but tasted really good as well! These little suckers are kinda spendy…I’ve seen them from $2-$3 a piece, but if you’re in a bind, I think it’s a good buy. Of course, you want to keep in mind that just because it feels heavy doesn’t mean that’s the weight of what you’ll be drinking. The junk inside that makes it heat up weighs quite a bit from what I can tell. My professional estimation is that you’re getting about 12 onces of tasty goodness. Not too shabby, really!

Anyway, that’s my recommendation for today. I really enjoyed it…it was a pleasant surprise!  BTW - HERE is a video I took of Lonnie earlier. He didn’t want me to post it, but damn it…he’s just so adorable and handsome. How can I resist?

• Sorry it’s been a few days since I’ve pumped out any Random Randomness©. I’ve either been busy or just simply feeling like crap lately. I feel pretty good today, though, and am not too busy to post something.

• I went to Physical Therapy for my neck/back injury for the first time yesterday. Ouch. The therapist didn’t hardly even do anything, but I’m still feeling it. No pain, no gain, though, so I am doing my best to be tough about it.

• My daughter spent the night at her friend’s house last night. Her friend lives back in Oregon, so it’s such a pain in the keister having to take her over there. It’s about an hour drive…but it’s worth it knowing how happy it makes her.

• I’m making cheese filled Tortellini for dinner tonight. I’ve never made it before, but I’m assuming it’ll be pretty good. I’m hoping so, anyway. I think I’ll use an Alfredo sauce on ‘em. I’m not sure what people usually use, but that’s what I’m going for.

• I’m wearing my angel earrings today. They’re so cute…and since I’m somewhat superstitious, I consider them to be a good luck charm.

• I’m also wearing my super cozy fleece socks today! I love these things. My tootsies stay so nice and warm.

• I’m currently listening to “Ænima” by Tool. I’m not too into it for some reason…but it’s better than silence.

• Lonnie and I watched “The Invasion” last night. While I generally cannot stand Nicole Kidman, the movie was fairly decent. Not the best I’ve ever seen, but also not the piece of crap we watched the other night. I give it one thumb up and one thumb to the side. Whatever that means.

• I bought some new creamer last night. It’s from the fine folks over at International Delight. The flavor I got is Hershey’s Chocolate & Caramel. WOW! That stuff is SO good! I love it!

• We’re going to have to leave to pick my daughter up pretty soon, so I’m going to need to wrap this up in just a couple minutes. I don’t have my make-up on, and the last thing I want to do is embarrass my daughter by showing up looking like doody!

• Lonnie just turned the air conditioner on. I’m already so cold! I wish we were on the same internal thermostat!

• I had a nice talk with my Mom earlier. I felt a lot of tension between us lately, so I went into her bedroom and asked if we could have a talk. We did and things seem a lot less tense now. I’m glad I got up the guts to go do that. I hate feeling tension.

• I need to mow the lawn some time this weekend. It’s not disgustingly long or anything, but it at least needs a good trim.

• I need to get my kids new winter coats before it gets too cold. I have no idea where I’m going to get the money to get them, but I’ll have to figure it out. They need to have warm coats!

• I guess I’d better go put my make-up on and get ready to pick my daughter up now. I will do my best to post some more either later tonight or tomorrow! Thank you to all of my loyal readers who keep checking back. It means so much to me that you’re all sticking with me by reading my blog on a regular basis! You guys are the best! :big hugs:

I woke up early this morning so that I could make a treat for my family…Coffee Cake!  I decided to take pictures along the way so I could share them with my readers.

Soooo…let’s get started, shall we?    

First, I had to set the oven for 350° …

 

While the oven warmed up,

I sprayed pan with cooking spray …

 

Once I got all the dry ingredients together,  

I had to whisk ‘em in with an egg and some water…

 

Now that it was all mixed up properly,

I spread half of the mixture into the bottom of the baking dish…

 

 

Once there was a fairly level layer of batter

in the bottom of the baking dish,

I grabbed a measuring cup and filled it

with a mixture of cinnamon, sugar,

and other such numminess….

 

At this point, I sprinkled a lovely layer

of said mixture over the entire pan of batter.

 

Now that I’d done that,

I had to create different little globs of batter

on top of the cinnamon and sugar concoction…

Once the globs of dough had been made,

it was time to sprinkle more of the

cinnamon and sugar stuff over the top…

 

As you’ve probably picked up on by now,
there’s pretty much a layering effect going on here.    

Anyway….here’s what it looked like after I’d loaded up the glob layer with the cinnamon/sugar tastiness…

At this point, I grabbed a butter knife and swirled it around a bit…mixing the dough up a bit.           

 

I really got that knife in there and mixed it around a bit….

I was going for pretty much a marble looking effect…

 

So, now that all the layering is done,

it’s time to slide the Coffee Cake into the ol’ oven!

 

 

 

Can’t forget to set the timer!

 

And now that it’s in the oven,  

it’s time to make myself a big ol’ tumbler of coffee!

 

 

Can’t forget the Hazelnut creamer.

It makes the world go ’round! 

 

After a while had gone by and I’d already ingested a tumbler of coffee,

I figured I’d better check on the Coffee Cake

to see how well it was coming along…

 

Not only was it looking totally flippin’ killer,

but it was smelling soooo good, too! 

 

I was chillaxing and doing my best to be patient

when I finally heard the timer go off!          

 

 

YAY! Time to take the tasty treat out of the oven!!!

 

 

Ooooh boy! I can’t begin to tell you

how good that thing smelled!        

Here it is cooling on a rack!

 

Lastly, here is a picture of the sacred

Coffee Cake with a piece cut out of it…

 

I can’t express how good this thing was!  

My daughter and I sat on our stools next to the counter

and slowly ate our hunks of cake.