Posts Tagged ‘food’

there’s a sweet, sweet tea in this place

Friday, October 3rd, 2008

Tonight, I called up my best friend Brandon and his wife Joy to see if they wanted to go to dinner. This is a nice arrangement since they are two of my favorite people. Also, Claira comes with them, so I always have a cute date. (She doesn’t talk much, and she’s only thrown up on me once so far.)

Brandon wanted to try the new deli in town, McAllister’s. Apparently, when a restaurant opens up with a brand new staff, they go through a test run, like a recital or something. I’d never heard of that before, but it seems like a good idea. Joy explained that they typically do this by invitation, but tonight they let us in anyway. Brandon always was a smooth talker.

Hands down, the best thing about this rehearsal dinner (beside the fact that it’s not for a wedding) is that they provide free food… and there is a lot of food. I had veggie chili and a veggie baked potato. In retrospect, that was too much food. These baked potatoes are gigantic… easily as big as two or three of the normal-sized variety. For those who feel more carnivorous, there is a fine selection of roast beef, chicken, and even salmon. If you can manage to eat anything else when you’re finished, you may also take on one of their eight desserts (yes, there is cheesecake, freaks).

I’m wagering the entire staff was on hand for this ordeal, because they were on the ball. I dare anyone to try and finish a glass of their sweet tea (of mythic proportions) before a server offers to refill it. I’m not kidding, three different servers offered us refills in the space of 60 seconds. As for the tea, it may not be Philip’s addiction from Starbucks, but it’s very good if you like Southern style sweet tea.

At the end of our meal, Yolonda and Haley (forgive me if I’ve misspelled the names) introduced themselves, asked how we enjoyed our meal, and then got to know us. In addition to her work with McAllister’s, Yolanda runs a cleaning business and interacts with some of the Harding professors on a regular basis. Haley just returned from a year long mission trip in Honduras. I suspect I’ll be seeing more of them, as I intend to return after they have their grand opening. Yolanda told me that they even offer free WiFi, so I can do my homework or stalk facebook from there.

If you have the opportunity, I recommend checking them out. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need get going… too much sweet tea.

Left to right: Yours truly, Yolonda, Haley

Left to right: Yours truly, Yolonda, Haley

Pigs ‘deserve to be hurt’?

Wednesday, September 17th, 2008

This kind of nonsense really makes me angry. I have no problem with killing animals for food. However, torturing and abusing an animal is completely unacceptable.

Could God, who would not suffer an ox to be muzzled while treading grain, be pleased with this? I think not.

i met miss vickie at subway

Thursday, July 10th, 2008

Since I’ve arrived in Searcy, I’ve developed a good working relationship with my local Subway. The staff recognize me now and have made fun of my sunburn, going so far as to chide me not to get burnt again last weekend. I like it there.

The main reason for my patronage is that every day, they offer the “wrap of the day” at only $2.69. You can also order a fresh fit meal if you wish, for which the total comes to $4. I like Wednesdays because that is when they offer the Veggie Delite wrap. I’m not quite sure why that isn’t a perennial “wrap of the day,” since it is the same as any other wrap, minus the meat. I’ve been tempted to order the daily wrap and have them leave off the meat, but I digress.

This week I noticed that they put a sign up, advertising a new flavor of Miss Vickie’s chips (buttermilk ranch). Let me give credit to my Canadian friend Dan (not my old roommate, for those who know him) at church because he told me all about these chips from Canada. They are kettle-cooked, which is a northern thing, I guess (thanks, Sara).

I usually don’t even eat chips anymore because I’m trying to eat healthier, get in shape, and rid my body of the chemicals that reside in so many of our foods. However, I feel pretty good about recommending Miss Vickie’s buttermilk ranch chips, for a few reasons. First, they are delicious. I’m going to have to be careful not to go buy a cart-load from Kroger and chow down all night. Second, they contain no HCFC. This means that I’ve found a tasty chip that I can feel comfortable indulging in moderation.

Thank you Canada, for contributing this great snack food to our society, and for having a very catchy national anthem.

thumbsup

This sausage could vote. It could go to war and die for its country.

Wednesday, February 13th, 2008

So a couple of months ago I posted about a dire need I was feeling to make some changes. My job was suffocating me, and I was feeling largely useless.

Therefore, last month I took a week off visited a lot of old friends. I spent about 40 hours driving through Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Texas, and Tennessee. I saw some of my closest friends and spent some time walking around, in the daylight. It was nice.

As a part of this, I stopped by Harding. I wasn’t sure what to expect. Would I be called back to the enthusiasm I felt back then? Or might I feel the remorse of not being where I thought I’d be by now? Perhaps I would be reminded of poor decisions I made? Thankfully, it was a totally positive experience. I talked to some old professors and some old friends. I felt a renewed sense of purpose and a desire to follow that which led me to study Bible in the first place.

So big decision #1: I’ve decided to apply for the Master of Ministry program. I’ve already been in contact with Harding about it and have nearly completed the application. The next step is to find a Church to work with (hopefully full time so I don’t have to get a separate job). Classes for the summer start in June, and I intend to move as soon as I can find a job and get the logistics settled. I solicit your prayers as I work toward getting this together. I prayed about the decision before I made it, and I feel good about it.

Big decision #2: This is more in the long range goal department, but my brother and his wife are planning on going to Japan to do mission work starting sometime in 2010. I plan to be finished with the masters program by then, and I’d like to go with them. This is not concrete yet, but they’re having some preliminary talks with missionaries who are already there and hoping to get a team together at some point. Anyone want to go to Japan?

Big decision #3: I’ve decided to go all hippie and eat like a vegetarian for a couple of months. I’d been considering it for some time, but never made the effort until now. So today was my third totally vegetarian day. Mostly this is just an experiment to see if it is actually as healthy as everyone claims. I feel good so far, and I’ll keep you posted. I’m not going to go totally vegan, but I will be eating no meat (including eggs and fish) for awhile, and very limited dairy.

As a side note, I always secretly disdained the various veggie subs at quiznos, subway, and the like. I always wondered what the point was. Well, today I had a veggie sub at quiznos, and I feel vindicated. A sub without meat is pointless. Get a salad and some garlic bread from Olive Garden, I say!

Big Decision #4: I’m officially a registered voter. I’m a little slow on the uptake, but I will now be able to add to the confusion of the Florida ballot counting. Honestly, I was just feeling left out.

Finally, I have some fantastic news to announce. I’m going to be an uncle!! Sara is pregnant and I’m very excited. I couldn’t be prouder of Leslie and I know he’ll make a great father. I’m so thankful that he married a Christian girl who will make a great mother as well. Of course, I’ve spent the last few weeks plotting ways to spoil my future niece or nephew in the most annoying ways possible. So far I’m thinking a drum set, a pack of kazoos, and a bag of heavily sugar-laden candies. Any suggestions?

go go gadget immune system

Tuesday, May 1st, 2007

My throat hates me. The last few days it’s been pretty sore, but I’m praying that it’s on the upswing. In any case, yesterday I took one of my rare sick days, and today is my day off. Hence, I present you with a new post.

Last week we had a seminar of sorts at my Church. This resulted in me being at Chris’ house pretty much every night of the week. In turn, that produced 1) a lot of ping pong, and 2) the discovery that I can record from an instrument onto my macbook without a preamp. (it’s not perfect, but it can be done.) I’m thinking of laying down some tracks. If I do, I’ll put them up for your listening pleasure. Me and Daniel are also planning to release some songs as the Pinney Taylor Experience. Prepare to be amazed.

Rosie is off the Spew (as Alison calls it). I think this is probably good for the viewers of that show and the country in general. However, it’s time to stop besmirching her on the news. Let’s get on with our lives.

Beulah introduced me to the music of Kristin Andreassen. I highly recommend that you check out her website — particularly you should listen to Crayola on her myspace page.

If you’re one of those people who has been thinking about trying soy-based foods, but has been scared because it just doesn’t seem natural, I’m here to tell you as a non-vegetarian that it’s okay. Try it out. Silk’s vanilla soy milk actually tastes better on cereal than regular milk. I’ve also been trying some of the soy hamburger and chicken variants. On the meat, I probably wouldn’t notice a difference unless someone pointed it out to me. That’s also true of the chicken patties. I’m not about to go vegetarian, but I think I will eat more soy-based foods just for health reasons. I get more than enough meat to keep me healthy.

I work at a credit union, in case any of you don’t know. What you are about to view is good, solid financial advice. Tim Gotkiewicz linked to this video from his myspace page. I love it. This is the best way to get your debt under control, people. Watch this video; save yourself some heartache.

Time to go get some O.J. Who needs antibiotics?