In a few hours January 2009 will be gone. By now you're either used to writing '2009,' or you've been so good up to now that now you've let your guard down and find a stray '2008' here and there. At any rate, most have abandoned their New Year resolutions (others, like me, have yet to get them implemented) and looking for the next motivational occasion to look forward to.
On to my next random thought...
Dinner this evening was at one of my husband's favorite restaurants; Outback Steakhouse. A few things caught my attention while there... My kids' steaks were larger than mine and they ordered off the kids menu. It seems we all ordered 6-oz sirloins but because mine was cooked well-done and theirs medium - well, I ended up with the puny steak.
Speaking of eating out...The big topic of conversation (and concern) these days is the economy, and rightly so. There's plenty to talk about. In an effort to keep costs reasonable, business owners have to get creative. On a recent dinner to Cracker Barrel I noticed my entree was about half the size it used to be. Now I'm not a huge eater (i.e. quantity at a single sitting) but I generally have enough food left to cover my lunch the next day. Hmmm...not that day. Now we're out of town on business and having to eat out and a similar situation caught our attention tonight. The salads were much smaller than they used to be and when our dinners came I was shocked at how small the potatoes were. Our whole potatoes tonight were smaller than the potato halves used to be. So, while our bill was close to the same as always, we got a lot less. I should note, however, in the interest of fairness, that dinner at Applebee's last night held no surprises - I received the same large portion as usual - but didn't have any place to keep the leftovers at the hotel.
While 'people watching' at Applebee's last night we saw a good number of fathers out with their kids. I'm assuming, as dangerous as I know that is, that they were divorced dads with their kids for the weekend. At least the folks we saw seemed like they were enjoying their time together and were engaged in lively conversations.
A great place for people watching is the zoo, and amazingly enough, that's where we were for a bit this afternoon. As homeschoolers we usually go to the zoo during the week. We hadn't counted on how busy they would be on a Saturday; particularly a Saturday in January. It was a beautiful sunny day with a light breeze - just enough breeze to keep us just a touch colder than we were comfortable being. Ken walked the zoo with the kids and I took the time to read from a book I brought along. With no jacket with me I was getting pretty creative trying to make my knitted scarf do jacket-duty. Just when I would have it in a good spot for my neck, arms, and hands, it was time to turn the page. At least I had on long sleeves. Plenty of people were walking the zoo in short sleeves. I know 'cause I was watching them!
And finally...
For a brief moment yesterday I thought I was at the beach. Bright sunny day, gentle breeze and seagulls everywhere I looked. No, we weren't at the beach but in the parking lot of a strip-mall in Columbia, SC - the midlands - the center of the state. Someone said they follow the river and we were close to the river. Frankly, I think we'd both be happier at the beach!
Have a Super Weekend!
No comments:
Post a Comment