Third One Is A Charm

In the past week, we have tried out three new restaurants. We are always on the hunt for something new and good. Finally after three tries, we found a winner.

The first one we tried was Jaspers in Plano. I have seen their chef on Good Morning Texas several times and wanted to give it a try. The menu looked great and we thought we might be onto something good. The food was good, but not "over the top" great. I was a little disappointed, but thought maybe my expectations were too high. I do that sometimes.

Next we tried OC Burgers in Euless. The menu looked good and I saw a sign that said "fresh cut fries" and was hopeful. Unfortunately the fries were frozen fries that were barely cooked. They were not even brown and hard in the center. How can you mess up french fries????

The burgers could have been good with some tweaking. The lettuce and onions had a processed "chemical" taste. You know how sometimes you get prepackaged produce and it tastes like it has a lot of preservatives? This is how they tasted. The ice also had a funny taste that I could taste through my Dr. Pepper. If they cooked the fries for about 3 minutes longer and used fresh produce, it might be pretty good.




Our third restaurant was Blue Canyon. We spent the weekend in Rockwall at the Hilton Bella Harbor for a getaway. It was a neat area. It is on the lake (which is no big deal at all), but it has a shopping area with a movie theatre and lots of restaurants (including a Celebrity Bakery). We ate at Blue Canyon for dinner and Sunday Brunch. It was great.

I love bread, and the rolls they served with a special herb butter were excellent. We had the "Cast Iron Cheese Bake" for an appetizer. It was fontina, asiago and goat cheese with crab served in a hot skillet. The salads were good and one of the best dressings I have had in a while was the "Asiago Peppercorn Ranch". I had the short ribs with "Smoked Tomato Corn Spoon Bread" and Pops had the ribeye with "roasted garlic chive butter & Worcestershire glaze). For dessert we had "Homemade Donuts with Vanilla Latte". Everything was excellent.

For brunch on Sunday, there was more good stuff. Eggs, pancakes, biscuits, great sausage gravy, smoked salmon, salads, and some of the best roasted chicken I have ever eaten. It was very moist and tasted like it had a jalapeno pepper jelly glaze.

It is only about 45 minutes away (without traffic), so we will definitely go back. The decor was really neat too. A definite winner all around.

I Am The Best Wife In The World

Okay, I know that is a pretty big statement to make, but I definitely think Pops would agree. I also think he is the greatest husband in the world, and I know a lot of people who would agree with me. Not only is he a great husband, he is just a great person. He is well respected and loved by many people.

On Monday, we will have been married for 30 years. We are very blessed because it has been 30 wonderful years. That is one of the greatest blessings in my life. I know we have intentionally worked at it and made each other a priority, but I definitely think God has blessed us in our marriage in ways that only He can.

Pops treats me like a queen and makes me feel like the most special person in the world. I appreciate so much all that he does for me and how hard he has worked for our family over the years.

One of my "love languages" is gifts. I love to get them, and I really love to give them. I love to make a big deal out of gift giving and I love to sneak around and make them a big surprise.

For our 25th anniversary, I got a new wedding ring. This year I wanted to do something really special for him. I thought about what I was going to do a couple of months ago and I have been sneaking around for a couple of weeks trying to put it together. At times I had to make up some really creative lies, but I had such a blast sneaking around and trying to put this together. It was really hard for me to keep my secret for the past two weeks.

When Pops came home from work yesterday, I had this gift waiting for him in the driveway.


He was quite happy!

Anyone Looking For A Good Man?

If you are, or know someone who is, I know a great catch.


His qualifications:


Single
Never been married
26
Gainfully employeed
Nice Truck
Volunteers at church
Funny
Loves his mama
Goes hunting every weekend


Best of all: You don't have to cook for him. He kills and cooks his own dinner - here is the proof



He has a nice smile, but I think he was trying to look as bad as his pig. He caught him Saturday morning and had him for dinner Saturday night.

I Desperately Need to Clean Out My Cabinets!!!

It is scary to think what I might find in there. 99.9% of the time, my house is in perfect order. I can't stand for anything to be out of place. That DOES NOT count my cabinets or closets. They are both pretty disastrous. I am always saying I need to clean them out, but since that is not fun, I just don't find time to do it. Be careful if you open my cabinet doors, because you might get injured by falling objects.

This past weekend, I bought some new wash rags. Before I washed them and put them away, I decided to throw out all the old ones to make room for the new ones. This is what I found in my cabinet.

I have no idea how long it has been in there, but I do know that we have been permanently out of the baby making business for over 15 years. It was a 2 pack and 1 was gone. I thought about giving it to some of my younger friends, but according to the expiration date, it expired 4 years ago. I thought they might need it if they accept this challenge at our church.

Scary to think what else might be hiding in my cabinets. We have lived here for 22 years.

Just For A Smile

I saw this picture on Jennifer's blog, and it just made me smile. I love these two little girls more than anyone could ever imagine.

I'm A Mother Hen

I am a mother hen and all of my chicks have left the nest. Even thought they are not with me anymore, I still worry about them.

This weekend, several of them strayed far from their home nest. Pops went to our church camp, Allaso Ranch Friday night. Janelle came home from Abilene, so she was on the road. Justin went to Abilene to hunt with a friend. Jordan went to visit her best friend from college at Ole Miss.

I am not a worrier at all, but it does cross my mind that accidents can happen. You hear of tragic car and hunting accidents everyday. Everybody had a great time, but when they are all back home safely, I can breathe a little easier.

Santa Is Coming!!!

That's right. I just read in the paper that Santa will arrive at North East Mall today. This is just a week after Halloween. In my world, I don't think he should come until the Friday after Thanksgiving.


I get an earlier start with Christmas than most people. Since I take my decorations down on Christmas day or the 26th, I usually have them up by Thanksgiving . . . Or the weekend before. . or the weekend before that. Usually not before the 15th. I don't turn any outside decorations on until Thanksgiving night.


I used to put them up Thanksgiving weekend, but when the kids went off to college, I wanted the house to be all decorated for them when they came home for the holiday.

So, I guess I will put my tree up next weekend. I hope it won't be 80 degrees. That just doesn't seem right.

Listen To Your Mama!!!

Back in August of last year, we heard all of the hype about Bob's and couldn't wait to give it a try. We did, and this is what I thought about it.

Justin has been telling us for a while that we need to give it another try. Lots of his friends have told him how great it is. He didn't believe us when we told him that it just wasn't that great.

Justin has a love for gambling that is just as strong as his love for the Longhorns. He was certain that they were going to beat Texas Tech last week, so he made a few bets with his friends. One of his bets was with his friend John. Justin went to pay up, and John told him that he could just take him out for a steak and they would call it even. Justin gave him the choice of Bob's or JR's, and he chose Bob's.

Justin just called me and said he would have rather gone to McDonald's and thrown $125 out of the car window than eaten at Bob's. He was not impressed at all. He had the Lobster Bisque and he said it went down hill from there.

Justin, listen to your mama.

Besides betting on football, Justin's favorite thing to do is hunt. He has lots of friends with awesome leases. This started in college. One of his friends had a lease not too far from campus, so he would go hunting almost every day during the season.

He broke down this week and bought a new gun. It is pretty sick what he paid for it. He could have bought a really nice diamond for that price. He is like a kid with a new toy. He said he is constantly opening up the case just to look at it. Gun - Diamond. Mama would choose the diamond.

That is why he isn't married. He likes his toys. Justin, listen to your mama.