Tracie's World

With one-third of the Triple D Divas off getting their culture on at the Shakespeare Fest, and another third off doing the family thing, that left it to this third to try a local joint on our own this weekend.  Thinking that it would be fun to make it a theme night, we first went to a Diner called The Cowboy Grub.  I've been wanting to try it for awhile now, and for me at least, it did not disappoint.  First off - It was a really fun place, in that it kept with the cowboy theme. There was a covered wagon salad bar, longhorn steer heads on the walls, and plenty of Cowboy grub on the menu. I had the open-faced meatloaf sandwich. It came with their spuds (scalloped potatoes with cheese), and was covered in brown gravy.  It was de-lish!  One of their other specialties is their baked goods - so of course you know that I had to get a Buckaroo Brownie to go (double de-lish!). Since this was theme night, we decided to go to a showing of the new movie "Cowboys and Aliens"

I read an article yesterday about a family who gave up junk food for an entire year.  It was all about how much healthier they felt and how much better for the environment healthy eating was.  So today - I had a donut for breakfast, doritos for an afternoon snack, and may just have some dessert this evening.  And I have to say that it all never tasted quite so good.  I'm all about trying to stay healthy and everything, but I'm just saying - you have to live a little, y'know?

So last week, I get a bill in the mail from my Dermatologist Office.  Hmm, I gave them a co-pay at my last appointment, so why would they be sending me a bill?  I open said bill, and gasp in horror - it's a statement from my appointment, that shows a charge for "Destruction Benign Lesion" for $120, plus another charge for $90, making a grand total of $210, of which I am responsible for $56.64 (after insurance ponied up for $113.36 and I chipped in an additional $40 co-pay).  Are you freaking kidding me - $210 for a squirt of liquid nitro? Heck, I can buy it over the counter for $20.  So that would mean it was an extra $190 for the Doctor to squirt the nitro instead of me.  I mean, my Doctor is handsome and all, but not that handsome. Sheesh!!!

Pretty proud of my dinner tonight, some of which came from my own garden.  I neglected to take pictures of the final results, but here was the menu: Caprese Salad - Made with a homegrown cherokee purple tomato (sliced), homegrown basil, fresh mozzarella cheese slices, and balsamic vinegar. Baked potato with butter, sour cream, and homegrown chives. Alas, I had no fresh rolls to serve with it, but I did wash it all down with diet pepsi. De-lish!

Some of my veggies are now beginning to bear fruit.  I've had quite a few yellow pear tomatoes, as well as currant tomatoes, and last night, I picked the first of my Cherokee Purples (and boy, did they turn out to be sweet, juicy, and just plain yummy!).  I also picked the orange pepper (which was a little past ripe, so it's been chopped and is now waiting in the freezer) and the purple pepper.  And so far it looks like I'm going to get quite a few jalapenos. Tonight I used one of the Cherokee Purple and made an "Ultimate Broiled Cheese" sandwich.  A couple of kinds of cheese, with purple tomato in the middle, and dipped in a little sweet hot mustard.  The rest of the tomato chopped and served on the side.  De-lish!

Spent most of the last week at a work meeting in Vegas.  I'm sure you all know that I'm not a fan, but when work calls, one has to do what one has to do.  We met as a team, with folks coming from Salt Lake, Atlanta, and even as far as the Philippines.  It's been at least a couple of years since we all got together in person, so it was nice to be able to see everyone and catch up. We stayed at the Venetian and Palazzo Resort, which is now affiliated with IHG.  And I have to admit, the whole trip was better than I expected.  My room was quiet, dinners were very nice, and the casino was not as loud nor as smoky as I remembered.  And despite gaining a few pounds (damn Emeril!) I got plenty of exercise just walking back and forth from room to meeting room and back again.  I even took my jump rope along to get in a little extra work. While we did manage to have plenty of fun, there was also plenty of work.  Long days talking about goals, planning for next year, and sharing idea