Postin' Up Shop At The Cracker Barrel

What can I say?Β  I love food.Β  This is sad proof I was eating at the Cracker Barrel on almost a daily basis (and these are only from someΒ of my visits).Β  I was on a roll—breakfast, lunch, and dinner.Β  I’m smart enough to know that when I’m on a first-name basis with the entire crew that it’sΒ time to start reeling it back in.Β  You know you’re hangin’ out way too much when you know the dishwasher’s name who stays in the ‘back-of-the-house’ and never comes out to see the light of day.

I was also too afraid to count how much money in total I spent from all my visits—so I opted not to.Β  Why do I want to feel the pangs of knowing I could have purchased a new car at this point?Β  I try my best to not over-do it, but in the end I just love food too much.Β  And I love life too much not to enjoy it!

So,Β if you have nothing else to do today, move into the localΒ Cracker Barrel (or one of your favoriteΒ homestyleΒ eateries) and get to know the crew.

Enjoy the scrumptious cell-phone-quality pics.Β  Wish you could have been there!Β  What are some of your daily favorite eateries?

Take-Away Life Lesson:Β  Bring an overnight bag and justΒ spend the night on the Cracker Barrel porch.

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Your Car Is Not A Dining Table

Bread Pudding To-Go in car

For some reason, myΒ car keeps making a pit stop at that wonderful hometown diner after I leave work each day.Β  And bypit stop’ I mean literally 10 miles out of my way in the opposite direction from the way I go home each day.Β  But that’s neither here nor there.

This is Bread Pudding Monday and I’ve been craving a piece all day.Β  So I planΒ to take oneΒ home with meΒ to eat while I relax.Β  Then I run inside and grab two for the road.Β  How does that happen?

But I always need an extra one on hand because it’s aΒ WHOLE 7 days before Monday hits again for that bread pudding.Β  So I settle in the car, bread pudding in the bag next to me, and head home.Β  I could smell it wafting through the car.Β  I could practically taste it.Β  So I had no other choice.

But just because you can’t wait to get home to eat your bread pudding to-go doesn’t mean you should set up a dining area in your car while driving like I did, people!Β  Still searching for the one bite that fell off my fork and rolled God knows where.

Don’t try this anywhere, guys. I’m clearly a bad example.

So,Β if you have nothing else to do today, you’re more than welcome to help me look for that bite in my car—OR better yet, find a local hometown diner you can make a ‘pit stop’ at after work each day that’s 10 miles plus out of your way.

Take-Away Life Lesson:Β  Eat the bread puddingΒ AT theΒ restaurant OR pull the car over, set up shop, and go to town on the bread pudding in a NON-moving vehicle as the other cars stare at you in disbelief (or jealousy, is what I think).

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Did I Really Just Eat All That?

Image of a box of chocolate chip ice cream

Sooooooo, yeah, I did eat this entire box of yummy chocolate chip goodness throughout the course of a day.Β  What can I say?Β  It’s what made me happy at the time.Β Β I go through different phases where I constantly buy and eat boxes of chocolate chip ice cream until I get sick of it and stop again until the next year.Β  I don’t know where it comes from.Β  It just spikes outta nowhere, I tell you.

Do you think the saturated fat will cling to my arteries at some point?Β  Let’s hope not.Β  I do eat lots of bowls of oatmeal from time-to-time.Β  So I’m hoping that kinda rinses it away.Β  I guess when you think about all the ice cream one person eats over the course of a year, I’m probably doing much less in a shorter period of time is what it amounts to.

Chocolate chip ice cream
Last year, I decided to eat this bad boy straight out of the tub. I didn’t see the point of putting it into a bowl when I was just going to go back for 2ndsΒ and 3rds anyway.

So, if you have nothing else to do today, list out all the reasons why you should NOT scarf down an entireΒ box of ice cream by yourself and put it to memory.

That’s all I have to say on the subject.

Take-Away Life Lesson:Β  Read nutrition facts BEFOREΒ eating entire boxes of ice cream or better yet—maybe don’t eat a whole box inΒ a day.

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BP Coffee

Image of BP Coffee

Starbucks vs. the gas station—comeΒ on now.Β  I never thought a French vanilla cappuccino could be SO GOOD from a gas station!Β  And I’m not what you consider a coffee drinker, but once I discovered French vanilla cappuccinos I became addicted.Β  But not anything like a person whose life would hang in the balance if they didn’t have one straight away from waking up.Β  You know, the same kind of person you are forbidden from speaking to at the office until after 10:30am so the coffee can settle in.Β  No, that’s not me.

But IΒ soon discovered I couldn’t just walk into any place of business that sells coffee and order a French vanilla capΒ because they don’t all taste alike (yuck).Β  No, sir!Β  How was I to know?Β  I’m not a real coffee drinker.Β  But I soon found out after that fateful day.

After trying out many places (including the $4.49 with tax Starbucks 20oz), I found my absolute favorite at a local gas station (of all places).Β  And if you’reΒ nice to and get to know the owner and are a regular customer, OMG,Β you sometimes get them cheaper than what you normally pay or even free!Β  Here—aΒ 20ozΒ French vanilla cappuccino from a BP gas station.Β  Cost—$1.17 with tax.Β  Say whaaat!

So, if you have nothing else to do today, try different gas station coffees until you find one you love for $1.17 with tax.

Take-Away Life Lesson:Β  $4.49 – $1.17 = $3.32

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Fogo de Chao

Fogo de Chao menu

OMG!Β  Who’d ever thought you could have herds of meat coming at you on sticks all at once?!Β  I just love this place!

I mean, I already loveΒ buffets as it is for the obvious reason that I can eat as much as I want—so, naturally, I was in heaven.

The salad bar is a help-yourself kind of thing, but the side dishes are brought to your table on an ongoing basis by the gaucho chefs.Β  It’s great.Β  As soon as you’ve eaten one side item, they automatically bring out another replacement—you don’t have to say anything.Β  And this goes on the entire time you’re there.Β  They might as well bring me 3 baskets of warm cheese bread off top because the first basket is devoured within 15 seconds of me sitting down.Β  For reals!

So if you decide you don’t want anymore side items brought to your table, justΒ make sure you don’t eat the next side plate they bring out.Β  Because if they see you’ve eaten all your bananas—you’re definitely getting another plate of them!

AsΒ for the meats on a stick!Β  There are at least 15 different types of meat to choose from.Β  YES!Β  And all guests have their own personal disc at their table that has a red side and a green side.Β  Just flip it to the green side when you’re ready for the gaucho chefs to head your way with meat on a stick.

And they won’t stop coming at you until you flip the discΒ back to the red side.Β  So be warned.Β  It’s just constant as long as your disc is on the green side.Β  I made the mistake of forgetting to flip it back over to the red sideΒ and had a plateful of meat.Β  Woah!

So, if you have nothing else to do today, take a trip to your local Fogo de Chao and have some fun eating yourself into oblivion.

Take-Away Life Lesson:Β  The only difference between lunch and dinner is the price.Β  Lunch is always less expensive.Β  So go during lunch, if you can, for the exact same experience and exact same food.Β  That’s right.

The gourmet salad bar consists of fresh-cut vegetables, assorted cheeses, cured meats, and Brazilian sides.
Β The side dishes that are brought to your table consist of warm cheese bread (my favorite), garlic mashed potatoes, crispy hot polenta, and carmelized bananas.
The meats include–filet mignon, rib eye, top sirloin, bottom sirloin, beef ribs, lamb, chicken, pork ribs, pork loin, and sausage.
Desserts include my favorites of South American Flan and Signature Papaya Cream among other delicious goodness.

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When Manchester United Came To Town

Manchester United soccer team

Talk about a happy day!Β  I was so excited when I found out Manchester United was coming to my hometown.Β  I finally didn’t have to travel out-of-town to go see them.Β  Yes!Β  I made sure everything was in order immediately:

  • Tickets bought on the first-day sale—check
  • Great seats—check
  • Sexy Man United shirt personally made for me—check
  • Track players’ flight itinerary—check
  • Stalk out their hotel—check

No, no—not that last oneΒ really.Β  I’m not that crazy I don’t think.Β  I just loveΒ them in my own sweet way!Β  Ahhh.Β  I root for them all the way.

And howΒ cool is it that I was sitting directly behind their bench at the game?Β Β Yay!Β  I mean, these are my boys after all.

But the only thing I don’t like about watching them play when they come to the States during their hiatus from their regular season is the fact that not all the First Team players are playing.Β  What is that about?

I mean, IΒ want to see the actual players I see on the telly each seasonΒ who I actually root for when I’m watching it.Β  I don’t particularly want to see the new recruits just because they need some ‘experience’ and ‘practice’ playing with the team during the off-season.Β  I paid money to see the real deal, baby—myΒ First Team BOYS!Β  Don’t mess with me.Β  But at least a few of the First Team guysΒ actually played—just not all of them like I would have liked.

Sir Alex Ferguson of Manchester United
The one and only–Sir Alex Ferguson

To all my people thatΒ know Sir Alex like I do—I swear to God if he wasn’t chewing gum I wouldn’tΒ even recognize him.

Manchester United staff

So, if you have nothing else to do today, expose yourself to the world of Manchester United and watch a game or two.Β  These boysΒ are good at what they do.Β  Check their stats.

Take-Away Life Lesson:Β Β Eventually make it to see a home game at Old Trafford in Manchester, England and scheme to buy the team from the Glazers at some point.

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Am I Really The Only Girl Who Watches Spartacus???

MY HOMIES

I remember when I saw the first episode of Spartacus.Β  Wow! is all I can say.Β  The blood, the guts, the heads flying from one side of the arena to the other.Β  I mean, this isn’t for the faint of heart, you guys.Β  So be sure that’s your thing before you start watching.Β  I mean, I didn’t even know something like that was my thing.

It’s crazy what those folks considered entertainment back in the day.Β  You fought till the death in the arena.Β  So if you were a fighter and still breathing each day, you were considered pretty darn good because you have to keep fighting until one of you ends up with a gruesome death.Β  There’s no other way around it.Β  Those are just the rules.

And I love the storyline, but you’d have to watch the series from Episode 1 to even begin to understand what is going on.

GANNICUS deserves an area all to himself.Β  All he has to do is stand there and look pretty and all is right with the world.

Gannicus, Gannicus, Gannicus.Β  What can I say about Gannicus?Β  I remember when I first saw Gannicus.Β  It was love at first sight.Β  I remember it as clear as day—a new top-notch fighter who had never been beaten in the arena, was being introduced for the first time.Β  And BOY did he make Continue reading “Am I Really The Only Girl Who Watches Spartacus???”