Over the last several weeks, I have visited a number of new restaurants. I will provide a few thoughts and overall impressions on these restaurants. Two of the restaurants were visited on a work night for a “see what the suburbs have to offer” meal.
One evening we ventured to The Cove. This restaurant is not really new, but until recently my interest in going to it was very low. During our time in the cities, this location has housed approximately 5 different food establishments. I’m not sure what the problem is with the location, although it shares a building with a Live Bait shop – which in my opinion is not exactly appetizing advertising. Another part of my hesitation was based on their website which is awkwardly put together. In addition, the menu is rather obnoxious. The addition of the z on the end of wordz is annoying. The menu is difficult to read and I often wonder if people who create menus actually look at the finished product. Different fonts are used and way too much verbiage is used on the different songs/records that introduce the different categories of food. Just feels like they are trying too hard to have a theme.
We did venture out one evening to the restaurant to give it a try. The evening we went, it was pretty well populated. This is always good to see. They had some awkwardly placed tables in the restaurant – meant for one person, but the person would have to face the wall in the corner. I know when I eat in a restaurant by myself, I like to be able to look out and people watch. I would feel like I was in trouble if I had to sit in those seats facing the wall. The restaurant is decorated with various rock ‘n roll posters, albums, etc. This played along with the theme on the menu. Ironically, the tv station was turned to the country station and the overhead music was country as well – although not the same which was annoying.
So …what about the food? I went with a plain hamburger and fries. The hubby went with the Chubby Checker Chicken Sliders and the Elvis Cheese Curdz. The food was surprisingly pretty good. I think I had low expectations so the fact that the food was decent was surprising. I doubt I will rush back to The Cove, but if I’m in the area…I’d give it another try.
Next up…Casa Nostra Pizzeria and Ristorante Italiano. We tried this new restaurant during their opening week. We will go back and try it once they are a bit established, but it was worth a try this particular night. We went fairly early and had no problem getting a table. By the time we left, nearly every table was full.
The restaurant is pretty small in size. The décor of the dining room was pretty nice…deep red walls with dark trim. One of my biggest pet peeves of restaurants is when they don’t think through all of the design elements of the space and how the customers will experience the meal. This particular restaurant had an opening between the kitchen and the dining room that had no door. While it was nice to not have a door swinging back and forth, the harsh bright light of the kitchen was distracting. Unfortunately I chose a seat that faced that door. It was very distracting to me throughout the meal. A simple curtain would have helped provide a barrier.
The hubby tried the fettuccine alfredo and thought it was ok. I ordered a pepperoni pizza that when delivered had a neon orange look to it. It was so unappealing looking that if I were the chef I would never have served it to a customer. I gave it a try and it was tolerable. Part of the problem was the grease from the pepperoni. That coupled with what appeared to be a cheddar cheese blend provided the orange glow. While I didn’t send it back, I also will not order it again if I go back. They have paninis that might be worth a lunch trip some day if in the area.
Both of these restaurants were worth a week night try. I won’t rush back to either one, but they do offer a suburban option.
Happy eating!
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Solera
So my post about Solera has to begin a number of years ago. Specifically, I’m going back to 2004. This was the year that the hubby and I decided that we were tired of the same old restaurants. Minneapolis/St. Paul magazine published their Top 50 restaurants and we decided to “work the list.” Every week we would pick a different restaurant from the list and make reservations. Thus began the love affair of trying new restaurants. Now we never did hit all 50, we’re both not big sushi fans and several of the restaurants are focused on that cuisine. However, we did hit a fair share of the list and most of the Top 20. The one exception – which is still on the list is Canoe Bay in Wisconsin. That would require a likely stay overnight due to the drive, so we haven’t gotten there quite yet.
Which brings me back to Solera, after our first visit to this Tim McKee restaurant, I fell in love. As Reservations for One indicates, the Chorizo Stuffed Dates are an all-time favorite of mine. Now when you are working the Top 50 list and new restaurants continue to come and go, it is hard to always get back to restaurants that you’ve tried already. Solera is one of those that I make exceptions for. I’ve been there for birthdays, before a play, after a concert, happy hours, and just because. Now I still don’t go on a regular basis, but in the last 6 years I’ve been there a number of times.
When visitors come to town, this is one of the restaurants I always want to take guests too. My girlfriends from high school have been there….unfortunately one HATES goat cheese which was very disappointing given my love of the dates. We are still friends though; I just know we have our differences. One of the more memorable excursions was when we took my parents to Solera after a Garrison Keillor show. My dad is “vanilla,” plain and simple. He likes vanilla ice cream, regular coffee – no snooty latte or cappuccino, he’s a meat and potato man through and through. My mom on the other hand enjoys trying whatever we suggest and is more open to new foods. When I mentioned Tapas to my parents, I think my mom was intrigued and my dad was skeptical. We got them to go and my dad absolutely LOVED this place. My mom enjoyed it, but the surprise of the evening was how into the various tapas and the experience my dad was. (I will have to say this was after seeing Garrison and guest performer Wilco, so he was in a pretty decent mood.) It was a lot of fun and the food was great as always.
Which brings me to my recent visit…Reservations for One and I went there after work one evening. She has a great review of the dishes we tried. Please check out her blog for the specifics. I do depart from her on the Chorizo Stuffed Dates review. When you have the creamy goat cheese, who cares about whether there was enough Chorizo in the mix. They were still as good as ever! (And thank you that I got the extra one!) They no longer offer the breadsticks with Serrano ham, cheese and honey. That was also a great dish and I was sad to see it go. Every dish we tried was great. What’s awesome about tapas is if there was a dish you didn’t care for as much, you order another. It’s not like you are stuck with a full meal of something you don’t like. We also enjoyed a nice glass of Rioja which paired well with the items we ordered. I agree with the review of the dessert dish – the chocolate was just not quite sweet enough.
I would encourage you to give Solera a try if you have not already. As for me, I will be back and will order Chorizo Stuffed Dates as my first tapas.
Happy eating!
Which brings me back to Solera, after our first visit to this Tim McKee restaurant, I fell in love. As Reservations for One indicates, the Chorizo Stuffed Dates are an all-time favorite of mine. Now when you are working the Top 50 list and new restaurants continue to come and go, it is hard to always get back to restaurants that you’ve tried already. Solera is one of those that I make exceptions for. I’ve been there for birthdays, before a play, after a concert, happy hours, and just because. Now I still don’t go on a regular basis, but in the last 6 years I’ve been there a number of times.
When visitors come to town, this is one of the restaurants I always want to take guests too. My girlfriends from high school have been there….unfortunately one HATES goat cheese which was very disappointing given my love of the dates. We are still friends though; I just know we have our differences. One of the more memorable excursions was when we took my parents to Solera after a Garrison Keillor show. My dad is “vanilla,” plain and simple. He likes vanilla ice cream, regular coffee – no snooty latte or cappuccino, he’s a meat and potato man through and through. My mom on the other hand enjoys trying whatever we suggest and is more open to new foods. When I mentioned Tapas to my parents, I think my mom was intrigued and my dad was skeptical. We got them to go and my dad absolutely LOVED this place. My mom enjoyed it, but the surprise of the evening was how into the various tapas and the experience my dad was. (I will have to say this was after seeing Garrison and guest performer Wilco, so he was in a pretty decent mood.) It was a lot of fun and the food was great as always.
Which brings me to my recent visit…Reservations for One and I went there after work one evening. She has a great review of the dishes we tried. Please check out her blog for the specifics. I do depart from her on the Chorizo Stuffed Dates review. When you have the creamy goat cheese, who cares about whether there was enough Chorizo in the mix. They were still as good as ever! (And thank you that I got the extra one!) They no longer offer the breadsticks with Serrano ham, cheese and honey. That was also a great dish and I was sad to see it go. Every dish we tried was great. What’s awesome about tapas is if there was a dish you didn’t care for as much, you order another. It’s not like you are stuck with a full meal of something you don’t like. We also enjoyed a nice glass of Rioja which paired well with the items we ordered. I agree with the review of the dessert dish – the chocolate was just not quite sweet enough.
I would encourage you to give Solera a try if you have not already. As for me, I will be back and will order Chorizo Stuffed Dates as my first tapas.
Happy eating!
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
The Anchor Fish and Chips
The hubby and I ventured out to The Anchor Fish and Chips recently to see what all the hype was about. I actually was more interested in trying it than he was - the idea of Fish and Chips just sounded appealing. We had an event to go to in the evening, so we hit The Anchor around 4:45 pm. It was packed! There are pros about being a party of 2 as we were seated immediately while larger parties had to wait.
The place is small, but not confining. I'm borderline claustrophobic and small enclosed spaces can sometimes bother me. This was not that way. While the waiting area is small, the actual dining area was comfortable. I wouldn't necessarily go there to have a serious conversation with someone - others will hear you. But really, who has a serious conversation over fried food? My one complaint on the space (and one that I have with other smaller restaurants) is the lack of a vestibule from the outside to the restaurant. There was not much between the guests and the outside air. In the middle of winter that can make for some drafty dining. The decor of the restaurant was simple and on the dark side. Very cozy, minus the drafty door.
We placed our orders relatively quickly. I went with the restaurant namesake, the Fish and Chips. The hubby went with the Sausage and Chips. I think I had a Diet Coke and he had water, so no commentary about the beverages on this review. Although a cold beer probably would have tasted pretty good with the fish and chips, I'll save that for summertime.
The wait for our food didn't seem to take too long. The fish portion was a generous serving. Technically there were two fillets, but they were huge. I think we could have easily split this and maybe an appetizer to go with it. There was one sausage in his meal. It was quite large and definitely filling. The chips were very good - especially with the white vinegar. I ordered a side of tartar sauce (ahhh....childhood memories of fish stick night)! This was not your Mrs. Paul's tartar sauce. We shared it between the fish, sausage and chips. Hints of garlic. Mmm. Very refreshing and worth the 50 cents extra it cost. The fish was an Alaskan cod deep fried to a golden brown. The fish itself was flaky and oh so tasty. I tried it with the vinegar, then the tartar sauce, and by itself. All 3 ways were appealing. The breading was good, but I quickly tired of it as the portion was so huge. I ended up leaving quite a bit of the fish...next time I'll split it! I didn't have them box it up for leftovers. I just don't think it would have lived up to the hype had I reheated it later. The sausage was presumably good as well. I didn't try it as it just didn't appeal to me. I like sausage for breakfast, but later in the day...not so much. He enjoyed it though and I think would recommend it to others.
We finished the meal and gave up our table for the waiting crowd. We both agreed it was a good choice and one that we would go back to again. However, the food was fried and heavy and stuck with us for awhile. We actually contemplated blowing off our evening event since we were uncomfortably stuffed. Thankfully we didn't as we had fun at the event and the uncomfortable full feeling went away fairly quickly.
My overall opinion is great restaurant for good pub food. Split the Fish and Chips with someone. Go early as it is busy. Looking forward to trying it again in the summer.
The place is small, but not confining. I'm borderline claustrophobic and small enclosed spaces can sometimes bother me. This was not that way. While the waiting area is small, the actual dining area was comfortable. I wouldn't necessarily go there to have a serious conversation with someone - others will hear you. But really, who has a serious conversation over fried food? My one complaint on the space (and one that I have with other smaller restaurants) is the lack of a vestibule from the outside to the restaurant. There was not much between the guests and the outside air. In the middle of winter that can make for some drafty dining. The decor of the restaurant was simple and on the dark side. Very cozy, minus the drafty door.
We placed our orders relatively quickly. I went with the restaurant namesake, the Fish and Chips. The hubby went with the Sausage and Chips. I think I had a Diet Coke and he had water, so no commentary about the beverages on this review. Although a cold beer probably would have tasted pretty good with the fish and chips, I'll save that for summertime.
The wait for our food didn't seem to take too long. The fish portion was a generous serving. Technically there were two fillets, but they were huge. I think we could have easily split this and maybe an appetizer to go with it. There was one sausage in his meal. It was quite large and definitely filling. The chips were very good - especially with the white vinegar. I ordered a side of tartar sauce (ahhh....childhood memories of fish stick night)! This was not your Mrs. Paul's tartar sauce. We shared it between the fish, sausage and chips. Hints of garlic. Mmm. Very refreshing and worth the 50 cents extra it cost. The fish was an Alaskan cod deep fried to a golden brown. The fish itself was flaky and oh so tasty. I tried it with the vinegar, then the tartar sauce, and by itself. All 3 ways were appealing. The breading was good, but I quickly tired of it as the portion was so huge. I ended up leaving quite a bit of the fish...next time I'll split it! I didn't have them box it up for leftovers. I just don't think it would have lived up to the hype had I reheated it later. The sausage was presumably good as well. I didn't try it as it just didn't appeal to me. I like sausage for breakfast, but later in the day...not so much. He enjoyed it though and I think would recommend it to others.
We finished the meal and gave up our table for the waiting crowd. We both agreed it was a good choice and one that we would go back to again. However, the food was fried and heavy and stuck with us for awhile. We actually contemplated blowing off our evening event since we were uncomfortably stuffed. Thankfully we didn't as we had fun at the event and the uncomfortable full feeling went away fairly quickly.
My overall opinion is great restaurant for good pub food. Split the Fish and Chips with someone. Go early as it is busy. Looking forward to trying it again in the summer.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
A Burger is a Burger....or not
Occasionally on a weekend, we'll hop in the car and find an out of the way diner or burger joint to try. Minnesota Monthly magazine helped the process along a couple of years ago by publishing an article on hamburgers. Over the last couple of years we've managed to try a number of these "burger kings".
To start with, I must explain that when it comes to burgers...plain is the way to go. I've had friends tease me about ordering a plain burger, but what better way to compare burgers to each other than to just order the tried and true standard. Meat on a bun. I mean really, you throw on a piece of cheese or a crisp piece of bacon and you've lost the essential taste of the meat. I want to be able to tell if it's juicy or dry, well seasoned or bland. Now sometimes I will add a little mayo or ketchup to the burger, but only after trying it au natural. (And if I'm adding a sauce, I've likely not found the end all be all of burgers.) I do enjoy a good cheeseburger every now and then, but if I'm trying out a new place I typically go plain. Speaking of cheeseburgers and idiosyncrasies, my Dad has to have mustard on a cheeseburger but not on a hamburger.
Recently we paid a visit to an out of the way restaurant/bar called House of Coates. I can't find a website, although there are a number of reviews if you google them. We have been there for lunch a couple of times before, so we knew what to expect. We got there about 6:30 and had just a small wait, although the host said 25 minutes it was more like 10-15. There were a couple of spots at the bar, so we grabbed a drink and waited. We each ordered a plain burger and split fries. The place was busy and so we had to wait a bit for our meal. Just made us that much hungrier. The burgers and fries came and looked good. The burgers were not the "fake looking" pressed patties that you sometimes get at restaurants. These burgers were handmade patties - not perfectly round, a little loose in the formation. The fries were pretty standard. I was disappointed in the lack of taste of the burger. It was juicy, just a slight pink center, but really not much taste at all. Let's put it this way....I added ketchup. There are just too many other good burger places to go these days.
We went to another out of the way burger place during the holidays. We headed to King's Place (warning, the website is slow to open). This is an interesting burger place. It sits in a town with a population of probably no more than 150, but it is always busy. They have a huge variety of burgers. I know I went on in the previous paragraph about ordering plain burgers. Well here, there are so many interesting ones that after the initial visit with a plain burger, I usually mix it up now. As with the Coates restaurant, the fries are unremarkable. The burgers are just soooo good. Juicy, flavorful, handmade (no pressed patties there). I would highly recommend a visit to King's Place if you are looking for a good, inexpensive burger.
Let me know if you ever need ideas of where to go. I have many thoughts on good burgers in the area...even some in other parts of the country. For example, nothing beats a good Kelly Burger.
Happy Eating!
To start with, I must explain that when it comes to burgers...plain is the way to go. I've had friends tease me about ordering a plain burger, but what better way to compare burgers to each other than to just order the tried and true standard. Meat on a bun. I mean really, you throw on a piece of cheese or a crisp piece of bacon and you've lost the essential taste of the meat. I want to be able to tell if it's juicy or dry, well seasoned or bland. Now sometimes I will add a little mayo or ketchup to the burger, but only after trying it au natural. (And if I'm adding a sauce, I've likely not found the end all be all of burgers.) I do enjoy a good cheeseburger every now and then, but if I'm trying out a new place I typically go plain. Speaking of cheeseburgers and idiosyncrasies, my Dad has to have mustard on a cheeseburger but not on a hamburger.
Recently we paid a visit to an out of the way restaurant/bar called House of Coates. I can't find a website, although there are a number of reviews if you google them. We have been there for lunch a couple of times before, so we knew what to expect. We got there about 6:30 and had just a small wait, although the host said 25 minutes it was more like 10-15. There were a couple of spots at the bar, so we grabbed a drink and waited. We each ordered a plain burger and split fries. The place was busy and so we had to wait a bit for our meal. Just made us that much hungrier. The burgers and fries came and looked good. The burgers were not the "fake looking" pressed patties that you sometimes get at restaurants. These burgers were handmade patties - not perfectly round, a little loose in the formation. The fries were pretty standard. I was disappointed in the lack of taste of the burger. It was juicy, just a slight pink center, but really not much taste at all. Let's put it this way....I added ketchup. There are just too many other good burger places to go these days.
We went to another out of the way burger place during the holidays. We headed to King's Place (warning, the website is slow to open). This is an interesting burger place. It sits in a town with a population of probably no more than 150, but it is always busy. They have a huge variety of burgers. I know I went on in the previous paragraph about ordering plain burgers. Well here, there are so many interesting ones that after the initial visit with a plain burger, I usually mix it up now. As with the Coates restaurant, the fries are unremarkable. The burgers are just soooo good. Juicy, flavorful, handmade (no pressed patties there). I would highly recommend a visit to King's Place if you are looking for a good, inexpensive burger.
Let me know if you ever need ideas of where to go. I have many thoughts on good burgers in the area...even some in other parts of the country. For example, nothing beats a good Kelly Burger.
Happy Eating!
Settling the Bill
I wholeheartedly agree with Philip Dorwat in his post on the Mpls St. Paul Mag blog. One of my biggest pet peeves at a restaurant is when the server asks "Do you need any change?" when picking up the bill. And yes, I am a good tipper by practice.
I was at a restaurant before Christmas where the bill was $14.50 and I laid down a $20 and was asked "Do you need change?" Really??? Am I going to tip you that much? Maybe on a holiday or special occasion, but it was for a pizza on a random day in the middle of the week.
I was at a place this evening for dinner and heard our waitress ask another table if they needed change. I decided I would use a credit card versus having to get asked that question. I've thought about just not tipping if they ask that, but I haven't quite gotten to that point. It's just one of those things that does cause the tip to go down after potentially a good experience.
Another way for a waitress/waiter to lower their tip is by waiting too long to bring the bill. So many servers drop the ball on this one. They may be extremely attentive all meal, but when it comes time to get the bill they have suddenly disappeared. See it through people, see it through!
What causes you to leave a smaller tip? What causes you to leave a more generous tip?
Happy Eating!
I was at a restaurant before Christmas where the bill was $14.50 and I laid down a $20 and was asked "Do you need change?" Really??? Am I going to tip you that much? Maybe on a holiday or special occasion, but it was for a pizza on a random day in the middle of the week.
I was at a place this evening for dinner and heard our waitress ask another table if they needed change. I decided I would use a credit card versus having to get asked that question. I've thought about just not tipping if they ask that, but I haven't quite gotten to that point. It's just one of those things that does cause the tip to go down after potentially a good experience.
Another way for a waitress/waiter to lower their tip is by waiting too long to bring the bill. So many servers drop the ball on this one. They may be extremely attentive all meal, but when it comes time to get the bill they have suddenly disappeared. See it through people, see it through!
What causes you to leave a smaller tip? What causes you to leave a more generous tip?
Happy Eating!
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Pardon My French
Tonight the hubby and I ventured out for our second trip to Pardon My French Bakery, Cafe and Wine Bar. The first trip was a Saturday afternoon several weeks ago. While the overall experience of the first visit was ok, I definitely wanted to give it a second try.
Let me start by mentioning the layout of the restaurant. It's a large, awkwardly laid out space. One area is like a coffee shop with oversized chairs, computers, reading material. Then in the middle of the restaurant is a gas fireplace with sofas and tables surrounding it. Then the other side of the restaurant has tables and the aforementioned wine bar. I felt that it couldn't decide what it wanted to be.
The second aspect of the restaurant that left me scratching my head was the clientele. Nothing was wrong with the individuals themselves, but the first time we went there was a huge group of high school (or college) aged students who took up a large portion of the restaurant. They didn't seem to be eating much, but rather socializing, etc. Tonight there was a jewlrey party (Lia Sophia) in the middle of the room. While they weren't altogether distracting, I just struggled with whether or not this was a restaurant or a community center. The side of the room we were on this evening was all females. I think the hubby was estrogened out.
Now, onto the food. During the first visit I had the quiche special. Two quiches with a side salad. I had the Quiche Lorraine and the Asparagus, Tomato, Chicken Quiche. Both were good, but I tired of the spinach pretty quickly in the Quiche Lorraine. There was a ton of spinach in the quiche. The second quiche was more evenly balanced and tasted good.
Tonight we both went with the Tart Flambe. The menu noted that it was a 25 minute preparation time for these and so we waited. The tarts came out and were essentially flatbread pizzas. Mine consisted of a lot of cheese, onions, and bacon. It tasted very good, but I couldn't finish the entire thing. I still am puzzeled by why a flatbread type pizza takes 25 minutes to prepare. Thankfully my new iPhone comes in handy when you have a lot of waiting to do. We finished dinner by sharing a piece of dessert - Raspberry Pave. It was a lot of chocolate and very rich. I washed the meal down with a glass of red wine.
So, we gave it the second try it deserved. Not sure it will get a third visit anytime soon. While the food was good and the service was fine, I just can't get passed the idea that they don't know what they want to be. Even the title of the restaurant sums it up pretty well - is it a bakery, a cafe or a wine bar. Is it a community center, a library, or a place to just hang out.
Happy eating!
Let me start by mentioning the layout of the restaurant. It's a large, awkwardly laid out space. One area is like a coffee shop with oversized chairs, computers, reading material. Then in the middle of the restaurant is a gas fireplace with sofas and tables surrounding it. Then the other side of the restaurant has tables and the aforementioned wine bar. I felt that it couldn't decide what it wanted to be.
The second aspect of the restaurant that left me scratching my head was the clientele. Nothing was wrong with the individuals themselves, but the first time we went there was a huge group of high school (or college) aged students who took up a large portion of the restaurant. They didn't seem to be eating much, but rather socializing, etc. Tonight there was a jewlrey party (Lia Sophia) in the middle of the room. While they weren't altogether distracting, I just struggled with whether or not this was a restaurant or a community center. The side of the room we were on this evening was all females. I think the hubby was estrogened out.
Now, onto the food. During the first visit I had the quiche special. Two quiches with a side salad. I had the Quiche Lorraine and the Asparagus, Tomato, Chicken Quiche. Both were good, but I tired of the spinach pretty quickly in the Quiche Lorraine. There was a ton of spinach in the quiche. The second quiche was more evenly balanced and tasted good.
Tonight we both went with the Tart Flambe. The menu noted that it was a 25 minute preparation time for these and so we waited. The tarts came out and were essentially flatbread pizzas. Mine consisted of a lot of cheese, onions, and bacon. It tasted very good, but I couldn't finish the entire thing. I still am puzzeled by why a flatbread type pizza takes 25 minutes to prepare. Thankfully my new iPhone comes in handy when you have a lot of waiting to do. We finished dinner by sharing a piece of dessert - Raspberry Pave. It was a lot of chocolate and very rich. I washed the meal down with a glass of red wine.
So, we gave it the second try it deserved. Not sure it will get a third visit anytime soon. While the food was good and the service was fine, I just can't get passed the idea that they don't know what they want to be. Even the title of the restaurant sums it up pretty well - is it a bakery, a cafe or a wine bar. Is it a community center, a library, or a place to just hang out.
Happy eating!
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
I'm Back
It's been more than 44 days since I last posted. (Obviously!) Since early November, I have finally completed my Masters degree in Human Resources and Industrial Relations. I still haven't quite gotten used to that fact. I think part of it is that until the last week or so it just felt like semester break. I didn't feel like doing much over break. School didn't get out until almost Christmas. Needless to say, I did not get cards out this year. Now the new semester has started and I have friends back at school. However, I am doing what I want in the evenings. So....what does that entail?
I have gone back to a Bible study on Monday nights. This is something that I've enjoyed over the years (prior to classes). It's been nice getting back into that type of a study.
For Christmas I was given a set of private squash lessons. I had my second one tonight and I'm feeling pretty sore already. (Hope I can walk tomorrow!) My goal is to beat the hubby once in awhile. I'm learning some strategies to do that...now if I can put them to use!
Those are the only two "committments" that I have during the week with the exception of work. One thing I've been enjoying is catching up with friends for dinner and/or a glass of wine. Just knowing I can do that when I want without the pressure of "needing to study" is great.
I've been slow getting back to Debbie's Discourse as I am still contemplating what I want this blog to be about. It's been 3 years (almost) since I started this to occupy my time during the ankle recovery. I have used it over the years to provide quick updates, talk about the dogs, etc. I'm wanting to change focus. What might that be??? I've thought about gearing it towards a food blog. There are so many out there, so I wouldn't be competing with the heavy hitters. This would just be a place to capture some of the great meals that I share with friends. So, that might be an option.
So....if I have any readers still, I'll try and get back to this blog on a more regular basis. If I don't have any readers anymore....well, it's a good place to write and capture thoughts.
Hope you all are having a great start to 2010!
I have gone back to a Bible study on Monday nights. This is something that I've enjoyed over the years (prior to classes). It's been nice getting back into that type of a study.
For Christmas I was given a set of private squash lessons. I had my second one tonight and I'm feeling pretty sore already. (Hope I can walk tomorrow!) My goal is to beat the hubby once in awhile. I'm learning some strategies to do that...now if I can put them to use!
Those are the only two "committments" that I have during the week with the exception of work. One thing I've been enjoying is catching up with friends for dinner and/or a glass of wine. Just knowing I can do that when I want without the pressure of "needing to study" is great.
I've been slow getting back to Debbie's Discourse as I am still contemplating what I want this blog to be about. It's been 3 years (almost) since I started this to occupy my time during the ankle recovery. I have used it over the years to provide quick updates, talk about the dogs, etc. I'm wanting to change focus. What might that be??? I've thought about gearing it towards a food blog. There are so many out there, so I wouldn't be competing with the heavy hitters. This would just be a place to capture some of the great meals that I share with friends. So, that might be an option.
So....if I have any readers still, I'll try and get back to this blog on a more regular basis. If I don't have any readers anymore....well, it's a good place to write and capture thoughts.
Hope you all are having a great start to 2010!
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