Yeah, Yeah

So I know its been awhile...

Let me just sum up and review. Eating places in downtown Dallas are plenty...And the Green Papaya (Vietnamese) is very good. Maybe if I have time I will come back to that with more info, maybe not?

Helping Gary run the kitchen here at the Mercy Ships International Operations Center has been good and they keep us busy with everyday meals, events, functions, and really anything else they can think of to incorporate food!

Catering has been good and we have reinvested a lot of the money in tweaking/fixing problems that occur or getting prepared for them in the future. Check out our website ExclusivelyYoursCatering.com . We can even bill you with a complete invoice by email and you can pay with your paypal or credit card by clicking a link in your email! (I know, we are big time now...Right?!) hahaha

Wedding plans are kick-in along at a good pace and things are really shaping up there, we (just me before the marriage) will be moving into an apartment the middle of next month so I can get everything unpacked and set up. Yes, we already have most of the furniture and YOU KNOW I got my favorite kitchen stuff packed up with me just ready to unload in a kitchen of my own, uh, excuse me...Our own.

My sister has just had another addition to her family, Victor Joseph...Her third child, my second nephew. Whew-hoo!!!!

And for those of my devote fans/readers (all 3 or so of you) please pray for my dads healing...He had an accident at work where he fell down and cut/hurt his head and eye (around eye is swollen, though I think it is not cut) and also broke his hand. And since his car is manual he won't be able to drive for awhile. For himself or my mom.

that's all folks...So much packed in such a short space.

Hook, Line, and Sinker

3103 Lemmon
Dallas, TX 75204

Old worn out boat motors hanging out on the porch/patio out front, small dining area with lots of 'fishin' paraphernalia all over, wooden shack with a 'wait to be seated sign AFTER ORDERING' sign gets you started.

No caviar, sauteed snapper, calamari, or turtle soup here...No way. But a good dose of catfish filets, jumbo shrimp, fried oysters, trout, salmon, and various combinations thereof, most of which is also available in the form of a Po' boy sandwich. Most every entree has the added bonus of being served alongside fries and hushpuppies, and plenty of grease-absorbing sides are also on hand, including stuffed jalapenos, pickled green tomatoes, grilled zucchini, and seasoned squash.

If indeed your calorie intake has not been exceeded, please do fill up with homemade pies ranging from sweet potato to coconut chess!!!

Of course you can have grilled or boiled! We wouldn't want to exclude all those people who can't consume all those 'luscious' taste enhancing lubricants...Now would we? No.

Stephanie and I personally enjoyed/shared the Boiled 1lb Crab Legs & 1lb Shrimp with corn (on the cob) and New Potatoes for $19.95. And just not to feel left out, we ordered a side of Onion Rings. MMmmm, Tasty...Its no wonder they leave a whole roll of papertowels on the table for you to clean yourself up with.

Maybe we'll try the pie next time.

I personally have got in the habit of not messin' with my taste buds while eating certain kinds of food, so I would say water would be a choice beverage to wash it all down with...And that's free!

Frescata (sandwiches from Wendy's)

Once again I love the play on words to bring about a 'new' and exciting sandwich menu to a dying heavily calorie and fat laden menu, in my opinion that is.

Just out of my own curiosity I could not get a translation from frescata from Italian, Spanish, French, or Portuguese. So I broke it down and tried again with Fresca (which literally means fresh in all these languages except French). Then I went with ta and got: your in French (which wouldn't work considering fresca meant nothing), ta meant nothing in Spanish (so that doesn't work), you in Italian, it to you in Portuguese.

So now lets see what we get...if we compromise between Italian and Portuguese we can get a phrase that says, 'fresh to you'. Which would work with the rest of the statement, New Frescata Deli Sandwiches.

Once again it is now up to you to investigate to see whether it is worth the 'hype' or the Italian/Portuguese interpretation.

New food marketing techniques drive me nuts...can you tell!!!

Crib, Shack, Hacienda, Ranch, Homebase, Bat Cave

Affordable Luxury
The right size and the right location. Discover a home nestled on rolling hills and enhanced by the beauty of our New Orleans style courtyards. Easy access to major interstates and minutes to major employment centers. Located in the heart of Huntsville's best restaurants and shopping areas. 2 pools and tennis courts...

And that, my friends, is the description of the apartments I am moving into the first of the new year!

I won't give you the name because you may just decide to drop by unannounced!!! Call or E-Mail first!

Anyways, I am happy about that...a definite answer to prayer.

Odds and Ends

I am now shopping for an apartment for the beginning of next year. Its kind of hard doing that when you don't have a (paying) job reference or lease history for the past 4 1/2 years!

My new (old) job is working wonderfully for me and I am expecting a pay raise by December or January.

No news in the relationship department, but then of course I am not spending any time worrying about that. I got goals, focus, vision, things that need to be accomplished in the next few months...and even further down the road.

Lately I have been reading the book, 'The Bible That Jesus Read' which has been very good for me and understanding Old Testament 'things'. I am about halfway thru with it...it came about that I chose this book after reading another book by the same author that I really enjoyed, 'The Jesus I Never Knew' by Phillip Yancy.

At work it has been like dusting off an old bicycle and riding it again only to discover there are a few new additions to it...but thats ok, because it doesn't take long to adjust to those either.

I am finally recuperating from a lung infection that has been sapping my energy for the last ten days and will venture back into the gym after taking a week off. Even though I have not been cooking or creating as much as I would like, I have still taken time to read from my culinary books and magazines as well as watch a lot of my favorite food network shows...so I am still learning and developing some new 'things' and dishes, recipes, menus...that I will be trying out when I get my own kitchen in January.

I have found that after our state went to a 'no-smoking' law in all the restaurants that I have been able to go back to a few hometown places that I started avoiding just because of the heavy smoke...which doesn't effect any of my friends that smoke because they never smoke while eating in an establishment anyway. They say it ruins the experience and taste of the food.

Now I wonder what ever gave them that Idea? Smart people they are (my friends)!