Ramblings for Today

It's been a couple of days since I blogged, so I thought I'd ramble for a minute. I am still all wrapped up in the Olympics. I just LOVE Shawn Johnson. I've been trying to decide why I would ever cheer for her over Nastia (after all she's a Texan), but there is something so contagious about Shawn's smile and demeanor. I don't think I've ever seen Nastia smile, well maybe when she was on the medal stand. Anyway, I was so happy Shawn finally won a gold medal for balance beam. She was amazing. Since she is only 16 she will probably be in the next Olympics. I have also enjoyed the beach volleyball. Tina and I had a great time watching the gold medal match together over the phone. I know that's crazy, but I do that with several of my friends and family members. You watch the same channel at the same time and cheer and comment. It's quite fun if you can't be together. The men's beach volleyball final is coming up and they are fantastic to watch as well. I hope they win a gold medal too.

Today was a great day. My friend Janice Patry (she also retired this year) got together with a bunch of our friend teachers from Lamar for lunch. Of course we went to Pacific Rim (we have been allowed back after the broken window incident.) It was so great to see all my old friends from school, but the best part was when they were having to hurry and finish up so they could get back to school. Janice and I just sat out front for a good 45 minutes chatting away. We probably would have stayed longer, but a bum came up so we left before he could ask for something. Then tonight, after a disappointing quest for a new handle for our back door, Kevin and I tried a new restaurant. It's called the Texas Firehouse Bar and Grill on Coulter. It is where All The Fixin's used to be. It was GREAT. The food was terrific. We had a philly steak sandwich, but it was the Texas version with grilled onions and jalapenos. We substituted the regular fries for the sweet potato fries and that was a good decision. I had ordered some kind of pear beer, I know weird, and after I had a few sips, I kept thinking, "Why is this burning my lip?" Then as I was eating, same thing, why is my lip burning? Then the next time I took a drink, I figured it out, my glass had a major chip and there was a very jagged edge that was slicing my lip each time a took a drink. Not a major cut, just like a paper cut on my lip, but it was still not good. I called the waitress over and told her, so she took the glass and brought me a new one. I was kind of surprised a manager didn't come over, but one didn't. Then about half way through our meal, a manager stopped by to see what we thought about the restaurant. So first I told him I appreciated him opening a NON-SMOKING restaurant and then I told him about the glass. He apologized profusely and then went on. A few minutes later he came back and compted most of our meal and gave us a gift card to come back. We definitely will go back. The food was absolutely worth it. So if you go, just be sure and check your glass. We then came home and I had to put our door back together with the old door handle. We finally just decided we would get a new door. That will be an adventure for another day. I will have my nephew's kids tomorrow and then John's first birthday as well as my parents are coming for the weekend. Sounds like a plan.