What Happened To The Weather?

OK, so Labor Day happened and poof we are heading into the 80's and may hit 90 by the weekend. Yikes! Thank you air conditioning. Work, sleep, repeat. In this weather, I am not a big outdoor kind of guy. Yes, that is shocking news to be sure. LOL But I have to tell you it has been an awesome summer with temps in the 70's for the most part touching 80 from time to time and many cooler nights. This is the kind of summer I can totally relate to. What also has me excited is that in 3 weeks I catch the Victoria Clipper for an overnight in Canada and Carl will be joining me from California. we are going to kick it all off with a 7 hour wine-tasting and lunch. How nice. The funny item is the hotel we are staying in is right next door to where Uncle Markie always stays when in town. And so it goes.

So Do You Agree?

Here are other highlights of Zagat’s annual fast food survey:

Most Popular Mega Chains:
1. Subway
2. McDonald’s
3. Wendy’s
4. Burger King
5. Taco Bell

Top Overall Mega Chain:
1. Wendy’s
2. Subway
3. McDonald’s
4. Pizza Hut
5. KFC

Top Healthy Options:
1. Subway
2. Wendy’s
3. McDonald’s
4. Taco Bell
5. KFC

Fast Food Chain with Best Burger:
1. Five Guys
2. In-N-Out Burger
3. Wendy’s
4. Burger King
5. McDonald’s

Fast Food Chain with Best Wings:
1. Buffalo Wild Wings
2. Wingstop
3. KFC
4. Zaxby’s
5. Pizza Hut

Quick Refreshment Chain:
1. Red Mango
2. Pinkberry
3. Jamba Juice
4. Smoothie King
5. TCBY

Fast Food Chain with Best Coffee:
1. Starbucks
2. Dunkin’ Donuts
3. McDonald’s
4. Peet’s Coffee & Tea
5. Caribou Coffee

Catch Up Tomorrow...

The Menu for Dinner Last Night

Realized I had not shared the menu, likely due to the cocktails and wine...but it was a fun evening. Markie brought Pineapple vodka and I have to admit - SHOCKINGLY - it was not too bad with tonic. But I did have a plate of deviled eggs topped with crushed red pepper flakes for a bit of a kick to balance out drinks. To say they were hoovered would be an understatement. Seriously, a dozen eggs gone in minutes.

Dinner continued with a lovely Caesar salad with crab complete with blue cheese dressing. It was a wonderful addition by Markie and yet Mick did not want to indulge as he does not care for crab. But he was able to take care of his needs by a quick trip downstairs. I finished prep of the main course and into the oven it went at 400 for an hour.

Mick was in need of carbs with dinner and so he went downstairs and got some fried rice and a pork dish of some sort. While he enjoyed some with dinner, he ended up leaving it at my place. Well, it kept talking to me over and over to the point that I got up at 2AM and went in and washed it down the garbage disposal. I know me all too well, if it had gone in the garbage it would have still talked to me and I was so over it. I still did not fall back asleep until nearly 6:30AM. Thank the goddess I don't have to work until Tuesday!
The main course was a bacon-wrapped pork loin and it was a thing of beauty. As you can see, it is ready to go in the oven. With the salad and appetizer, it was a lovely meal. Mick was also able to satisfy his need for dessert by getting himself two chocolate dipped cream puffs and ate those as Markie and I finished eating.

Dinner Party

After a full and trying week at the office it is time to enjoy the holiday weekend and that means hosting friends for dinner. Markie has had me over several times this summer and I have not seen Mick for quite sometime. Mick is by his own admission "absent-minded" and so often forgets people when his attention is redirected like it was most of the summer with Brett. well, Brett has moved back to Hawaii for school and so I thought I would be a nice guy after being ignored for months at a time and invite him over as well. It was an interesting evening.

Flowers, Flowers Everywhere

Flowers are such a personal thing and everyone has their favorite. Roses are right up there and lilacs pop in the spring. Color is one thing to consider but scent is always a factor. One of my favorites are Stargazer Lillies. They have the bright pink and a room can become totally consumed in their scent in only a few minutes. Last night I had a delivery from Amazon Fresh and three bunches of lillies arrived to make two lovely bouquets.

Yes, it is Friday of Labor Day weekend, and the apt. is filled with the wonderful smell of flowers.

While Stargazer lilies are so colorful and delightfully scent filled, I have to say my favorite lilly is the Casablanca. They are white and so huge. Having a centerpiece of just them makes for a clean and simple statement. This one is by the bronze torso and near my bed so I see it first thing when I am getting out of bed. What a nice way to start the day. Have a great weekend everyone

Blog-cation Over

Greetings one and all,

The past 6 weeks has been a much needed blog-cation. It was timed with another project. Losing weight. Yes, the body was expanding at an unhealthy rate and being over 50 I knew something had to give. It is a blend of Atkins and South Beach for no better word adding in a strong dose of doctor consult and with bi-weekly weigh ins, so I am not obsessed by a scale. Instead, it has been a lot of retraining my eating habits. The amount of food I consume is down and at the same time I find I am more picky on what I eat. There is no longer the "clean plate club" feeling that I have lived with for so much of my life.

43 pounds have shed themselves these first 6 weeks and I know it was a bit of a jump start to get going. Need to drink more water according to the doctor and to think 6-8 glasses a day was enough. Nope and then that means visiting the WC more often and well, therein I get more walking in as I to and fro. It's all good. So as we go into the holiday weekend, I'll take some time and bring you up to speed on what else has been going on.