Friday, July 22, 2011

Fatty Friday -- Clocked

Hey y'all. Last night I had a dream that I won a food challenge against a 3lb hamburger. In the dream, I mistakenly ordered a $40 ginormo burger that was free if you finished the whole thing. Colonel Brandon was none too pleased with me for ordering a $40 hamburger, but I told him not to worry about it because I was going to own that burger. And own it, I did. I devoured that 3 ponder like it was no more than a Misteak and Shake double with cheese...which would be really delicious right now. For the record, Dream CB was going to pay for the burger if I didn't finish it. Real life CB would do the same because he's sweet like that. Real life me will do my best to never accidentally order a $40 hamburger.

Real life last night was burger night and this week we chose Clocked. The thing about this burger quest is that it's really more of any excuse to eat hamburgers and have something to write about than it is an actual quest. Clocked is across the street from where I work, so I eat there a lot and thought I knew what to expect. They have all kinds of awesome burgers with tons of creative toppings. My favorites are the Meteor Burger (with feta) and the Peanut-butter Bacon burger (if you haven't had peanut butter on a hamburger, I highly recommend it). They used to have one with pineapple. I miss that one.

Anyway, last night, after much debate (there was a pimento cheeseburger and I also really wanted the peanut butter burger), I opted to try something new and ordered the chili-cheese burger.
It came open-faced with a fork and knife for a reason. I really liked the concept, but wasn't so much enamored with the burger. The chili was just okay and I don't think hamburgers are supposed to be eaten with a knife and fork. On the other hand, Clocked does make a mean burger and the patty was still excellent and cooked very well. I give it a 6, but I think I'd give other burgers I've had there 8s.

CB ordered the bronco burger with gouda, bacon, onion rings, and BBQ sauce.
He did not like the BBQ sauce/bacon/gouda combo. Also, he HATES pickles and red onions and didn't realize that they come on every burger, so that was an immediate turn-off. I think he's a little crazy because Clocked has some of the best pickles anywhere. Also, I've had the Bronco burger and, while it's not my favorite, I enjoyed it. I'd give it a 7. CB would probably give it a 3.

We're still questing for that "Perfect 10," but that's good because a 2 week quest would be kinda lame. Clocked is still one of my favorite Classic City restaurants. How could you not love a place that gives you Double-Bubble when they bring the check? However, the search continues!

Fondest regards,
The Lady

P.S. -- If you want to read more about The Sound of Music Sing-A-Long, Sarah posted the adventure along with some pretty great photos!

Monday, July 18, 2011

A sash and a sing-a-long

This weekend marked two big milestones for yours truly.

1. I completed my first successful sewing project...a blue satin sash. Why on earth would she need a blue satin sash? To go with my white dress, of course! Wait, wait, NO! I am NOT getting married. Can you think of any other reason I would need and white dress with a blue satin sash?...

For...

THE SOUND OF MUSIC SING-A-LONG!!!!!!!!!

That's right. Milestone number 2 was my very first Sound of Music interactive sing-a-long at the Fox Theater. Yes. I dressed up. It was so much fun! We cheered for Maria, hissed at the nazi's, yelled, "WEEEEEE!!!!" with Liesl, and popped poppers when Maria and The Captain finally kiss. There was also a costume contest (which I did not enter, but may next year) that included lonely goat herds, Marias, Baronesses, nuns, Alps, assorted favorite things, and one guy who was "high on a hill." Most fun of all was that we all sang every word to every song. I mean, I sing every word to every song every time I watch the movie, but this time all the people around me were actually okay with it because they were singing, too!

The only downside to The Sound of Music sing-a-long (besides a slightly sore throat) is that after you've been to one, every day after that is just not as wonderful unless you have plans to go to another. Seriously, I woke up this morning a little sad because I won't be attending a sing-a-long today. It's just another manic Monday. Sad.

Fondest regards,
The Lady

P.S. I may post pictures later, but Sarah took them all and then left town. I'm at her mercy.

Saturday, July 16, 2011

A Fancy Dinner

I made a deal with The Little Lady the other day (what? I'm not above bribery) that, if she behaved, we could have a Fancy Dinner together. I even promised to dress fancy (which she stipulated meant NO shorts or t-shirts). She held up her end of the deal, so I made it happen. The next day I picked her up from camp in a grey jersey-cotton dress and beaded headband and her whole face lit up as she got in the car. "You did dress fancy." Boom town. This kid is easy to please. Thus began the discussion about where we would go for dinner:

TLL: I don't know any fancy places to eat in Athens.
Me: We can go anywhere. Where is your favorite place to eat?
TLL: DePalma's...but it's not very fancy.
Me: Well, kiddo, at around $12 a plate, it's as fancy as we're going to get tonight. This is Athens not Buckhead.

Okay, I didn't say it quite like that, but man, "Not very fancy?"  I think I may have created a monster. Maybe her high standards will work for good as a dating deterrent. Anyway, we got home and she immediately went to her room to get ready only to be disappointed when I told her that she had at least 3 hours until dinner which would be plenty of time to read, practice piano, and wash the camp smell off.

So we got everything done and got ready to go out. Two fancy ladies headed out to a fancy dinner. I forgot to mention the other part of this deal: Fancy dinner = Fancy manners. That lasted until the bread and olive oil came out:

Me: (watching her push oil around the plate with her finger) What was our deal about Fancy manners?
TLL: Well...I was drawing a crown.
Me: uncontrollable laughter

It's really hard to discipline when you're laughing uncontrollably. The Little Lady knows this and uses it to her advantage more than I would like. Then she ordered pizza and informed me that Fancy manners did not apply to pizza as it is perfectly acceptable to eat pizza with one's hands. What could I do? It's true.

Fanciest regards,
The Lady

Friday, July 15, 2011

Fatty Friday

I can't remember if I told you this or not, but Colonel Brandon came up with a brilliant blog idea. He suggested that we go on an epic quest to seek out the best burger in The Classic City. I was going to call it Foodie Friday, but CB suggested Fatty Friday. I liked that better. Each week we will get a burger and then I will post on the merits or demerits (is that the right word? Probably not) of said burger. He has a lot of rules about what kind of burgers we should get, how to score them, etc. I have no rules and am content just to stuff my face and call it delicious. Feel free to throw in your 2 cents if I'm not discerning enough for your liking.  Here goes.

Last night we set the bar low with a trip to The Grill. I knew it was not ever going to be a contender, but eating the best burger the first week would mean weeks and weeks of sub-par burgers. Besides, it's been about 2 years since my last trip so I figured it was worth a shot. The Grill did not disappoint...I mean, it did disappoint...which is what I expected, so it really didn't disappoint...wait...where was I? Oh yeah. I went with the bacon swiss burger which came overcooked with dry, puny bacon and 1 teeny weeny square of white cheese that I'm sure was pre-sliced and had to be unwrapped. When we'd finished, CB said it tasted like Wendy's and he was exactly right. Wendy's, however, would've cost much less.

On the up-side, what may have been too much mayonnaise for some people was just the right amount for my taste. I am a BIG fan of too much mayonnaise on a burger.  Also, the fries and feta dressing (which are really the only reason sober people ever go to The Grill) were delicious as always.

CB suggested we do pictures of the burgers...but he didn't suggest it until we were basically done. Next time you'll get a whole burger.

Overall, I give it a 4...which is pretty arbitrary considering there is no formal ranking/scoring system. We're working out the kinks.

Fondest regards,
The Lady

Monday, July 4, 2011

Well friends, I just got back from a wonderful (albeit decidedly UNleisahly) mission trip in Kentucky. 8 kids + 6 other adults + 5 days of sleeping on the top bunk makes for one exhausted Lady. It was worth it, though. My work crew spent the week building an extra room onto the trailer of a 70 something woman. Her 13 year old great-grandson was displaced by some recent flooding and is staying with her until his parents can get their home cleaned up. The best part of the trip was that he became part of our team and reminded us all of just exactly why we do missions.

The second or third morning we were working, the boy came out to lend us a hand. His shoes were untied ( a big safety no-no) and we kept hounding him to tie them up. Finally he went inside and when he returned and while later had on velcro shoes. One of the girls noticed and asked him about it. Embarrassed, the boy admitted that he didn't know how to tie his shoes. Nobody had ever had the patience to teach him when he was young. That girl undid her laces, stuck out her shoes, and said, "Well, we've got all day now." The boy learned how to tie his shoelaces. The girl learned just how much most of us take for granted and what it means to share our blessings with others.

There were lots of great things that happened last week and the love of Christ was shown through all the kids at both our worksites. Their hard work and awesome attitudes were amazing to watch and I could not be more proud.

Fondest regards,
The Lady